The Shadows In The Corner
by Braveatheart1996
Summary: Sequel to The Things I'd Do For You. It's been over a month since the ordeal in Toronto, and the gang wants nothing more than to forget what happened and move on. But when a certain Albino finds her way back into their lives, Team Austin finds themselves being dragged into a world of nightmares and danger. Now, its going to take everything they have just to survive... please R&R!
1. Prologue

**Hello Everyone! I'm back! **

**To all people who are new to my work, welcome! To people who have read my stuff before, welcome back! If you're new to this story, be aware that this is a sequel. I'd recommend reading my other story first, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I think I put enough detail in this story to compensate. **

**So, just a few things you need to know. I included a prologue here because there are some important details you need to know beforehand. It's entirely from Emma's point of view, an albino character from my last story (Austin's little sister). I put it in the first person, and if you've been following this particular franchise than you know I don't usually do that. I'm actually better at writing in the first person, but that just doesn't work for this series, so to be clear, the whole first person thing is for the prologue only. The rest of the story will be in the usual third person, switching back and forth between Austin and Ally (Though I may include a few Emma chapters). **

**So anyways, I hope you enjoy! I also hope you're as excited about this story as I am! **

**P.S. I'll post the first chapter first thing tomorrow, which will probably be in a little over twelve hours. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally. **

"Emma!"

My head shot up at the sound of my name, and I tried to chase away the last fleeting remnants of sleep. I looked up at the woman who had called to me, and imposing forty-year-old, who was looking at me with a stern expression, her arms crossed and her foot tapping.

Uh oh, I thought. I'm in trouble.

"Can you tell us, Miss Dale, the name of our current prime minister?" The teacher asked. I was pretty sure she wasn't expecting an answer, but I was a smart girl, even when waking up from a nap.

"Steven Harper." I answered, stifling a yawn. The teacher, Mrs. Yamani, almost looked disappointed.

"Please refrain from sleeping in class, Miss Dale." She added, and a few of the other students snickered. I murmured a small 'yes mam' and returned my attention to the textbook in front of me.

School was a very recent discovery for me, and I found that it was sometimes difficult to stay awake. It wasn't even due to the fact that I had to get up early to attend. I was used to being woken up at ungodly hours. It was because I already knew most of what the teacher was teaching. When you have a perfect memory and a love for reading, you tend to learn things fast.

It had been exactly one month ago that I had traveled across Ontario and settled down in the rainy town of Thunder Bay. I'd picked this town purely for the lack of sun. It wasn't completely avoidable, but I did my best. The cold weather helped. I'd also come here following a certain lead. I was looking for answers to a few mysteries that composed my life.

When I was very young, three or four, my parents had given me away, illegally, to a religious nut and psychopath named John. He locked me in a basement with no light other than a red lamp that plugged into the wall, and gave me a sleeping bag to sleep on. Much later, he got me a notebook and pen, then a couple instruments to entertain me. It wasn't even out of some sort of twisted affection; it was because he was scared of me, and rightfully so.

John had taken to kidnapping and murdering children, people who were almost always my age, and he would do it right in front of me. I always tried my best to ease their passing, but they were kids, and it was hard. One day, though, he brought in a boy, a blonde haired, brown eyed celebrity. He turned out to be my brother.

Sometimes I wonder if John had intentionally taken a relation of mine to mess with my head (as if it wasn't messed up already). If he did, his plan backfired. Me and my brother, Austin, managed to team up and send a message to his friends as to his whereabouts. Our plan almost fell to pieces when John tried to move us somewhere else, but I stopped him, and Austin was saved.

And that is the mystery that brought me to Thunder Bay; how I stopped him. It shouldn't have been possible. Heck, I hardly remember the moment at all, which shouldn't be possible because I don't forget things. All I know is that I was suddenly filled with a powerful rage, and that I pushed him. Next thing I knew, he was dead.

The whole thing scared me to no end. I'd spent my entire life telling John, and my parents for that matter, that they were wrong, that that wasn't who I was. And then I had to go and do something like that.

I knew what their theory was. I knew exactly why they were scared of me. I also knew that they weren't alone in their theories. There was a whole network of people that I'd been tracing to find some answers, to find someone who could help me fight it. Because, to be honest, after what I did to John, I was about as scared of myself as everyone else seemed to be. At last, I'd finally set up a meeting with someone for later that day, and I was counting down the seconds until the bell rang, freeing me from class.

Eventually, the bell did come, acting as a mercy call. It's strange; I'd looked forward to school my entire life, and now that I was in school, it almost felt like I was back in prison. I certainly still got the stares of suspicion and disdain, which were almost as bad as the stares of fascination. I was treated either like a curse or a science project, and I couldn't even look forward to learning new things. I guess I shouldn't have spent a week in the library following my escape.

I grabbed my stuff and darted out of the class as quickly as possible, keeping my head down pointedly to avoid the other students. I didn't take the bus, since I technically didn't have a home, so I left school ground immediately, walking down the street at a brisk pace. I didn't look left or right the whole time, and made my way to the university in determination.

The person I was supposed to talk to was a university professor. He taught some form of religion, if I remembered correctly. A fitting position. Anyways, his classroom was at the far side of campus, so I had to walk through the entire campus to get there. I attracted a lot of attention, probably because they weren't used to seeing such a young person around school grounds. Still, I was always anxious about my albinism, and couldn't help but fear that they were all staring at my white hair and pale skin. They couldn't be staring at my eyes. I kept my gaze on the sidewalk.

Of course, it didn't help that I was unnatural for an albino. I didn't even realise that my looks were unusual among my own kind until about a week after I'd gotten out, and I'd come across a book on the subject in the library. The white hair and pale skin was common, but albinism usually didn't associate with a small frame like mine. I wouldn't attribute it to albinism, if it weren't for the fact that I wasn't related to anyone with a small frame. And then there were the eyes. Always the eyes. Albinos could very well have red eyes, but not like mine. They should be more pink. They shouldn't be blood red. It wasn't right.

Maybe it had something to do with what happened to John.

Raindrops started falling lightly from the sky, and I quickened my pace. Rain was very common in Thunder Bay, and though I blessed the cloud cover every time, no one liked getting soaked, especially when it was five degrees outside. Not that I felt the cold, but still.

I finally reached the building I was looking for. The building wasn't nearly as big as the other buildings that composed the campus, but it was impossible to miss. It was shaped like a giant church. I grinned to myself as I walked over the threshold and God didn't strike me down. If only my parents could see me now.

There weren't many classrooms in the church building, so finding the room I was looking for was pretty easy. Standing outside the large, wooden doors with ornate golden numbers, I took a deep, steadying sigh. This could be it. This could be when I finally get my answers. For all I knew, I could be doing something productive soon, something that would actually help me. I took that knowledge, and used it as courage, pushing the doors in and taking a step inside.

The room was an office, about 12 feet by 12 feet. It was clearly an older space, with wooden walls and a ragged carpeted floor. The walls, shelves, chairs and desk were all decorated with many different religious artifacts, prominent among those being the cross and the Virgin Mary. Not everyone I'd encountered was distinctly Christian, but most were, and this man most certainly was. As for the man himself, he was sitting at his desk, hunched over a piece of paper on which he was writing furiously. His hair was white and thinning and wrinkles covered what skin I could see. He looked like he should have retired a century ago.

I cleared my throat loudly, announcing my presence. Apparently, his hearing wasn't too compromised by his age, because he looked up immediately, peering at me through a pair of round glasses. For a moment, he seemed confused, but then his eyes lit up in recognition, followed quickly by curiosity.

"Ah," He said, setting his pencil down on the desk. "Emma, I presume?"

"Yes sir." I said, shutting the door behind me and stepping loser to the desk.

"I've been waiting for you." He said, smiling and winking at me. He gestured to the seat on the opposite side of the desk from where he sat. "Have a seat, my dear."

I did as he asked and sat in the chair. No sooner had I sat down did he add "Would you like a cup of tea?"

Now, I'd made considerable improvement in the past month when it came to interacting with people, and I knew the polite thing to do would be to say yes. But he was religious, and though I have nothing against religion, I found out early in life that I could not trust religious people, especially the Christian ones. Now, I'm sure there are a lot of very nice Christians out there, but I'm sorry, I couldn't trust this man like I could other people.

"No, thank you." I said, putting on my sweetest voice. Thankfully, he didn't seem offended, and simply proceeded to pouring himself a cup of tea. I waited as patiently as I could while he did so, focusing all my energy on staying still (which was not an easy feat, let me tell you).

My patience paid off in the end, and he eventually started up the conversation I'd come for. "So," He started. "You came here seeking answers."

"Yes, sir." I said.

"Answers about yourself, no less." He continued, almost more to himself than to me. He chuckled slightly before continuing. "You've come far to find answers."

"I know." I answered, looking down at my hands. It was a habit I'd acquired from living in a basement for most of my life. "But I need to know why it all happened. Why my mom and dad gave me up…" I trailed off and frowned, not wanting to say more on the particular subject.

The man's smile faded into something more soft, something almost like sympathy. He knew my particular story. "I understand." He said. "And I do believe that you deserve some answers. So I will tell you what I know."

I smiled at him, relief flooding through me. "Thank you." I said.

"So what are your particular questions?"

I thought about it for a moment, thinking of everything that had happened. There was just so much I wanted to know. Well, when in doubt, start at the beginning. "Why did they give me up?" I asked. So much for avoiding the topic. "Was it because I'm albino?" I looked down again.

He frowned slightly. "Not exactly." He said. "You see, many of your parents' particular religious beliefs mention albinism at some point. Some thought it was a curse, others thought it was a disease. A few believed that albinos were demons sent to earth. None of it was ever proven, however, and modern science discarded a lot of those beliefs." He sipped his tea, and then gave me a pointed look. "You are not just an albino, however. And that's where the more gruesome legends come from. Your eyes are too red, the colour of blood. You have a small frame that's unnatural for a human. Together, these point to a particular legend, one that still sends fear into the hearts of modern scientists."

He took a break, sipping at his tea again, waiting for him to continue. After a few more moments, he did. "I don't know the legend exactly, but it mentions frail children with red eyes and white hair who wreaked havoc on earth. It is said that they were some sort of receptor for a higher evil, a doorway into the human world. Some still think they were demons themselves." He sighed deeply. "It was just like the time of witch hunts. Believers gathered up weapons and hunted down these children, killing them before they became too dangerous. Children like such are born every now and then, but they've always been hunted down, even in modern times."

"I wasn't hunted." I pointed out to him, trying to process the information he was giving me. "I was abandoned by my parents and locked in a basement."

"Yes," He agreed, giving me a scrutinising look. "And that would be the real mystery, wouldn't it?"

I sighed in frustration. "I never did anything wrong." I insisted, pointedly ignoring the memory of John. "How could they judge me like that?"

"I've never approved of it." He said with a look of disdain. "But I do agree that there is something unusual about you and the other children like you. It could very well be something supernatural."

I lifted my hands in front of me, studying them with dismay. They did everything they did to me because of how I looked? And yet, something had to be different about me. What I did to John was proof of that.

"What am I?" I finally managed to whisper.

"I cannot answer that." He said. I sighed. "But I do know that people believe that you are powerful, both as an enemy and ally."

It took a few moments for his words to sink in. When they did, my head shot up, panic flaring in my chest. "What do you mean?"

"People are looking for you." He said. "They will take you things, your loved ones, all in an effort to control you. There is a war going on, my dear. Hidden beneath the mainstream of society. A battle for control between the churches. And for all they know, you could be the key to success, or defeat."

My mind just wasn't working today. I didn't quite process what he was saying, at first. It was just too ludicrous, too far-fetched. If I was such a key player, than why was I locked in a basement for so long? But then the rest of his statement sunk in, and I found all questions being driven out of my mind.

Your loved ones, he had said. They will take your loved ones.

Austin.

I shot up from the chair, earning me a look of shock from the professor. I didn't care. I doubted anyone outside of the Moon family would know who I was and my relationship with Austin, but I couldn't trust my parents to keep quiet. They gave me up, after all. Who's to say they wouldn't do it again?

I should leave. I should move to Alaska and hide someplace remote, where I would never be found. But if I did that, than Austin would be vulnerable. I'd be leaving him undefended against a ruthless society he knew next to nothing about. Of course, going to him could be even more dangerous for him, but I couldn't leave him undefended. I had to protect him, and by the gods, if I had any sort of supernatural power, I would sink it all into defending my brother.

I darted to the door, and my hand was on the doorknob when I heard the professor ask "Where are you going?"

I smiled fleetingly at him, and turned back to the door, opening it. I gave him a small answer as I left the room.

"I'm going home."

**Did you like it? Please tell me all about it! I love reviews! Then again, don't we all? **

**Goodnight and until next time! **


	2. Unexpected News

**Okay guys, here's the next chapter, as promised. I'm even posting it a bit early because my mom just woke me up a few hours too soon for my liking. Aw well. Anyways, we're now jumping back into the third person writing style. To answer a couple comments on the reviews, I'd just like to point out that this story is categorised as supernatural for a reason. I actually kind of got the idea from the show supernatural. I'll do my best to portray the characters like they are on the show, but other than that, it's very different. Oh, I'm ranting. Sorry. Oh, and I still love reviews. **

**So, here's the first chapter, technically speaking. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the little lullaby **

**P.S. speaking of the lullaby, it's samara's lullaby from the ring. I recommend listening to it. It's awesomely creepy. **

"He's doing it again."

Ally Dawson looked up from her book at the girl who had spoken, her best friend Trish. She didn't like it when someone interrupted her while she was reading, but something about Trish's tone bothered her. She followed her friend's gaze to the other side of the Sonic Boom, the music store she worked in, and took in the sight of Austin Moon, sitting on the counter and flipping through a worn book. He was humming a tune, one that didn't belong to any song she knew but she recognised anyways.

Ally sighed. "I know." She said. "I don't think he even realises he's doing it."

Trish made a frustrated face. "It wouldn't be so annoying if he told us what the song was, and why it's so important." She said. Secretly, Ally agreed, but she had a burning need to defend Austin.

"Just give it some time." She said. "I'm sure he tell us about it when he's ready."

"It's been over a month." Trish argued. "That's plenty of time!"

Ally didn't dignify that with an answer, and simply gave her friend a hard look that made her look away. No one liked to talk about what went down over a month ago. The four of them had gone to Toronto, Canada, for the MMVAs, but the trip had gone badly wrong when Austin was kidnapped by a psychopath named John. He'd been tortured for days before he'd managed to get a message to the rest of them, with the help of an albino friend, so they could find him and send a rescue party.

Austin had recovered extremely well, both physically and mentally, but he still held the scars from the event. Mainly, what bothered him most was the outcome of his albino friend. She'd literally vanished from the scene, having left no sign as to where she went. Ally didn't know how close they'd become, but Austin had been slightly obsessed about her ever since. The book he was looking through at the moment was part of it. The albino had given it to him, right before she left. He treasured it the way Ally treasured her songbook. She could respect that, but it still bothered her, especially since he wouldn't talk about Emma- that was her name- and why she was so important.

"Well," Trish finally said, breaking the silence. "Tell him that he needs to start humming his own songs. His fans are waiting for a new hit. I know he's been through a lot, but if you guys don't get on that soon, we're going to have some problems with star records." Star Records was the company that Austin had signed a contract with.

"I know." Ally said. And she did. She understood that they had to get moving with a new song, but she didn't want to push Austin if he wasn't ready. Although, it wasn't like he was suffering post-traumatic stress or anything. He seemed remarkably happy, actually, even while he's obsessing over Emma's book. Ally sometimes felt that she had suffered more than he had from the situation. Sometimes she thought that maybe that was why she was delaying the new song. Maybe Austin was ready, but she wasn't.

"Ally?"

She turned to Austin, knowing he was the one who had called her. "Yeah?"

"Can you come check something out?" He was still looking down at the book, but his eyebrows were furrowed, and he almost looked… worried. That was strange. Nothing in the book seemed to have put him on edge before.

"Sure." Ally said, getting up and walking over to him on the counter. Trish sat down and flipped over a magazine, apparently wanting nothing to do with the book.

Ally leaned against the counter beside Austin, looking down at the book that had so captivated him. "What is it?" She asked.

He looked up at her from the book, and for a moment, his expression softened, and he smiled. The moment was quickly gone, however, and his troubled expression was back. "Song lyrics mean something to you when you write them, right? I mean, you need inspiration. You get that from stuff in your life, right?"

"Right…" Ally said, not really knowing where he was going with this. "For me, sometimes it's personal. I mean, a lot of our songs have to do with something that happened in real life."

"Right…" Austin said, looking even more troubled.

Ally frowned. Reaching out, she put her hand on top of his. She didn't like it when he held back from her. "Hey," she said. "What's wrong?" She silently promised herself she wouldn't take 'nothing' for an answer this time.

Austin seemed to be seriously considering saying just that, but at the last moment, he changed his mind. "It's something Emma wrote." He said. "She wrote a lot of songs, and a lot of them are a little creepy, but this one is a bit out there. She used to hum it every now and then, too, and the tune is kinda scary. I guess I'm just wondering why she wrote it."

Ally furrowed her eyebrows and peeked over his arm into the book. He usually didn't let anyone else read it, but she had a feeling he would make an exception this time, and she was right. He tilted the book toward her so she could read it more easily.

_Round we go_

_The world is spinning_

_When it stops_

_It's just beginning _

_Sun comes up_

_We laugh and we cry_

_Sun goes own_

_And then we all die_

"I guess that's kinda creepy." Ally said. Okay, it was very creepy, but she didn't want to tell him that. "What's the tune?" She wanted to know what could make it creepier.

Austin hummed the tune, and while he did, she went over the lyrics again. Suddenly, it was as if the room dropped ten degrees, and Ally shivered. Okay, now she understood why it worried him.

"She wrote it when she was six." Austin added, pointing out the date in the top corner of the page. Ally was shocked, but not exactly for what Austin was thinking about.

"She'd been there since she was six?" Ally asked, her voice a little louder than she wanted it to be.

"Four" Austin corrected, and she shuddered. That was a horribly long time to be living with a psychopath.

"Then, you shouldn't be surprised." Ally pointed out, once she'd recovered from the information. "Actually, this song is pretty happy, if you take that into consideration."

Austin smiled and looked up at her. "Yeah," He said after a moment. "I guess you're right." He looked down at the book again and his smile faded a bit. "I wish I could just ask her."

That was probably the closest Ally had come to seeing Austin upset since they'd first come back from Toronto. And though she knew it was perfectly normal, she still hated seeing him down. This was Austin Moon, after all. He didn't get upset, not for anything, except Emma, as of late.

"One day, you will." Ally said, trying to cheer him up. Honestly, she had no idea if he'd ever see Emma again, but that wasn't what he needed to hear.

"Thanks Ally." He said. Ally knew he really meant it, which made her feel a little guilty about not being completely honest.

"Hey, you two!"

Austin and Ally both turned to Trish, now accustom to being referred to that way. She had apparently grown tired of the magazine she'd been reading and had now moved on to the TV. The news was on, and whatever they were saying had Trish urgently gesturing at them to come see. "Come check this out!" She said.

The two glanced at each other, than back at Trish, and moved toward her, deciding it was best to listen to her. They sat down on either side of Trish on the couch and looked up at the TV. She pointed to the headline, and Ally read:

THUNDER BAY GIRL MISSING

"Thunder Bay?" Ally said, confused. "Why on earth would they be covering a story from a different country?"

"It's the Canadian news channel." Trish explained. Ally hadn't known that they even got the Canadian news, but she didn't question it. She didn't really watch TV much, as it was.

"What's it got to do with us?" Austin asked. He didn't like stories of children gone missing, and it no doubt touched a nerve that Trish would call him over for just such a story.

"Read the girl's description." Trish said with a note of exasperation. Ally gave her a questioning look, than turned to the screen, doing as she was asked. The description wasn't very thorough, and they had no picture, but there was absolutely no mistaking a few details.

Small, pale skin, white hair. Red eyes. 12, maybe 13 years old.

"It can't be…" Ally murmured, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"It is." Austin said, seemingly torn between delight and worry. "Emma."

"And she's missing." Trish said, worrying Austin even more.

"From Thunder Bay," Ally added. "Last time we saw her, she was just outside of Toronto. That's a long way to go, especially when you have no way of getting around."

"She had no one to go to." Austin said, now growing confused. "Why would she be in Thunder Bay? Where was she living? How would they even know if she was missing?"

"She was attending a school." Trish said. "The teachers noticed something strange about her, so when she didn't show up after a few days, they went to check up on her. But when they showed up at the address she'd given them, there was literally nothing there- just an empty field. It was the school that issued the missing persons report."

Austin leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. "What is she doing?" Austin said, seemingly more to himself than anyone else. He stayed like that for a minute, deep in thought, and neither girl dared to interrupt. They didn't know how to deal with him like that. Finally, he sighed, and looked up. "Well, at least she wasn't taken. No one could know she was there. She didn't even give them the right name." He nodded to the screen, which listed her name as Emma Dale.

"That's not her real name?" Trish asked in confusion.

"Never mind." Austin said quickly. "The point is, she probably just left, maybe because she had to get somewhere else quickly." Ally could see the hope in Austin's eyes. Uh oh, she thought.

"Austin," Ally said gently, reaching out for his hand again. "I know you want to see her again, but you don't know she's coming here for sure. For all we know, she was running from something, not to something. You can't stand by your door waiting for her to show up." It was cold, but he needed to hear it, Ally was sure of it.

Austin sighed, and some internal pain she couldn't quite follow flashed across his eyes. "I know." He said. "But I can hope." A smile spread across his lips as he said it, and Ally smiled back, glad to see it again.

"Hope for what?" A new voice spoke into Ally's ear.

Ally screeched and jumped a couple feet off the couch. She quickly realised who it was, however, and turned in a huff, putting her hands on her hips. "Dez!" She chastised.

"Ally!" He answered in the same tone, a goofy grin on his face. Ally nearly scoffed. He was so childish sometimes.

The others apparently didn't mind Dez's childish behaviour, because both Trish and Austin were doubled over from laughter. After that, it got pretty hard for her to stay angry at Dez, and she eventually joined in the laughter as well.

"Oh hey, Austin," Dez said, once everyone had quieted down. "Your mom wanted me to come get you. We're having pizza tonight!" Dez often stayed over at Austin's place, since he parents traveled a lot. Even when they were home, Dez had tendency to stay over at the Moons'.

"Awesome." Austin said, getting to his feet. "See you girls later!" The boys started to leave, but at the last moment, Austin turned back, and quickly whispered "Don't tell anyone about Emma, okay?"

The girls only had a moment to nod before Dez dragged Austin away. They waved the boys off, and Ally saw that Austin was smiling once again. It was hard to keep track of his moods nowadays.

"Why doesn't he want us to talk about Emma?" Trish asked, still looking at the empty doorframe.

"I don't know." Ally said, equally confused. "I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Whatever." Trish said. "I got to get back to work. Catch you later?"

"Sure." Ally responded. Just as Dez often spent the night at Austin's house, Trish often spent the evening at hers. Her friends skipped away, and Ally just stared on, lost in thought. Eventually, she stood up to help a costumer, and though she was dragged back to the present, she still couldn't help but wonder.

If Emma was coming back, what would it mean for team Austin?


	3. Memories and Lies

**Hey guys! I'm back! So, chapter 2, officially. Yeah. It turned out to be longer than I expected. Actually, this whole story is turning out to be longer than I expected. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I really have no idea where I'm going with this story. Honestly, I'm as clueless as the rest of you as to what exactly is going to happen. Okay, slight exaggeration, but the point still stands. **

**Anyways, I just wrote a couple future chapters today, and I totally lost my mind. Literally. Again. So it might show… just a warning. Hope you like the story!**

**Disclaimer: Own the characters, I do not. (hehe)**

"Dez, do you remember my sister?"

Austin and Dez were sitting in Austin's room, waiting patiently for the pizza to arrive (Dez had fetched Austin just a tad too early). Both boys had been entertaining themselves with random games, but Austin hadn't really been into it. His mind was still on the news clip he'd seen earlier, and therefore, still on his sister.

Dez looked up, slightly surprised at Austin's question. "A little." He admitted. Then, in that oblivious way of his, he added. "She had white hair, right? Just like the albino on the tape. Now that's a coincidence."

Austin refrained from rolling his eyes, trying to stay on topic. "Right." He said. "So what else do you remember about her?"

Dez stared off into space, trying to dredge up the memories that Austin was asking him to recall. "Well, her eyes were really, really blue." Austin nodded. He had remembered this too. Only recently, he found out that she had in fact been wearing contacts that their parents had forced her to wear. "And she followed you everywhere. We could never get rid of her, unless we went outside. She never went out in the sun." Dez frowned, trying to remember the reason for this, but he came up with nothing, so he shrugged it off in that easy way of his.

"Anything else?" Austin pressed.

"Well… No…" Dez said, almost uncomfortable. "Just that she… you know… died."

Austin hung his head, troubled by the memory. She hadn't actually died, of course, but now that he knew the truth, the memory hurt in a different way. Dez didn't know this, however, and seemed to immediately feel bad. "Sorry," He said quickly. "I know you don't like to talk about it…"

"Hey, I brought it up." Austin said quickly, interrupting. He grinned at his friend, trying to mask his feelings. He really shouldn't have brought it up, he decided. He hated feeling down, and Dez would get suspicious as to why he was talking about it now. Really, Austin had just wanted to know if Dez would recognise Emma if she showed up.

Ally didn't know who Emma was, so Austin couldn't really blame her for being skeptical about whether or not she was coming to Miami. But Emma was his sister, and she promised him that they would find each other again. Austin didn't just want to believe that she was coming home. He needed to believe. The hope of bringing her home was one of the things that kept him positive after everything that happened in Toronto. At the same time though, Ally was right. If she was running from something, she wouldn't run home. That was the last place she wanted to go if she was hiding from people who meant her harm.

"So," Dez said, in an abrupt change in topic and attitude. "How's it going between you and Ally?"

Austin blushed furiously. When he'd been trapped in that basement, Austin had found out a lot of things about himself. One was that he had a sister. Another was that he was in love with Ally.

Of course, Austin hadn't told anyone about it (well, except Emma, but honestly, it was more like she told him), but Dez had found out anyways, just like he always found out about Austin's secrets. Dez had kept quiet, but Austin was pretty sure that he was getting frustrated by Austin's refusal to do anything about it.

Of course, Austin had good reason to keep his distance. It always circled back to the same argument; Ally was his best friend. He would not, could not risk that for anything. Austin had no reason to think that Ally returned his feelings, so he stayed quiet about his own emotions. Dez, however, though his silence was ridiculous, and brought up the topic whenever they were alone.

"Same as always." Austin said, trying to make it clear that he didn't want to talk about it. Either Dez didn't notice, or he decided to ignore it.

"When are you going to tell her?" He asked, still with a light tone.

"We've been over this, Dez." Austin said with a sigh. "I'm not going to tell her. I don't want to ruin what we already have."

"Then don't tell her." Dez said. Austin almost smiled, until he continued. "Write her a song or something. No one can say no to something like that."

"Ally could." Austin said, in a rare show of anxiety. "Besides, you know I can't write songs."

"Oh yeah." Dez said. He let the topic drop after that, but Austin still watched him suspiciously, almost waiting for him to ask him something else about his feelings about Ally.

You see, Austin actually agreed with Dez. A song would be a fantastic way to tell Ally how he felt, should he ever want to tell her. And though he couldn't write a song, he… well, didn't have to. His sister had written the perfect song for him to use for his situation with Ally. It still needed a tune, though, and he was hoping that Emma might help him with it. But she needed to show up for that to happen. It was a good procrastination excuse, anyways.

Both boys were saved from having to find another topic after that, because just then Mimi Moon called up to them, announcing that the pizza had arrived. They raced each other downstairs, shoving each other against the wall in an effort to slow the other down. Both boys were laughing, and it ended up being a tie.

"Well, you two seem pretty energetic." Mr. Moon commented, serving them both a couple of slices. "What exactly were you doing upstairs?"

"Just talking." Austin said honestly.

"About girls?" Austin's mom joked, hitting a bit too close to home. The boys tried to put on grins, but Mimi, being the mother she was, caught on to the bluff right away.

"You were talking about girls!" She said with a grin. "Do you boys have crushes? Are you going to ask someone out? Tell me all about it!" She had sat down at the table by now, next to her husband, who looked scandalised.

"Mom!" Austin protested, though he knew he was red as a tomato. "We weren't talking about that!"

"Yeah," Dez said, no doubt thinking he was coming to the rescue. "We were talking about Amelia."

Both parents froze, identical looks of shock on their faces. Austin's heart sank, and he wondered fleetingly if it was too late to confess of his feelings for Ally. One look at their expressions, though, told him that nothing would make them drop the topic.

"Honey," Austin's mom started, looking at him sternly. "Why were you talking about Amelia?"

Austin looked back and forth between his two parents, both looking at him sternly, demanding answers. A couple months ago, he would have just thought that they were worried about him dredging up bad memories. He knew better now. They were worried, worried that he might know the truth, that he might be questioning the story they had fed him for so long. They were especially worried because Austin thought- no, he knew- that they had recognised Emma as their daughter when they'd seen her on video. They probably lived in fear that she had said something.

And rightfully so. Austin had loved his parents his whole life, and had been loved fully in return, but to find out that such tenderness hadn't extended to his sister… well. It changed things. He'd been carrying a certain amount of resentment toward them since finding out, still unsure what to think of them. How could one set of parents have been so loving toward one child, and so cold toward the other?

Austin got the sense that they knew something was wrong, something he wasn't talking to them about. And it just made him more confused. When he'd first found out about Emma, he'd denied it adamantly, refusing to believe. But then she'd showed him her locket, a family photo of the Moons. That, combined with the details of her story, made it certain. Emma was his sister. His parents had lied to him.

Of course, he couldn't express himself now.

"We were just, you know, reminiscing." He said, trying to keep eye contact but not quite managing.

"Honey, you haven't talked about Amelia in years." She said. Again, the double standard. She was worried, but not just about him.

"I know." He said, trying to come up with an excuse. "I guess I've just been thinking back a lot, you know? I don't even remember much." Then, just because he was mad at his parents, he added "How did she die again?"

"Um…" Mimi said for a moment, uncomfortable. "Meningitis."

"But that's no topic for the dinner table." Mr. Moon added in, his shoulder's tension the only sign of how much the talk was bothering him. "Go on, boys, eat up."

Dez had already chowed through his first pizza and was eagerly reaching for the second, but Austin found he suddenly wasn't feeling very hungry. He ended up giving one of his slices to Dez, and eating only half of the other one. It was a new record for him.

Conversation was scarce for the rest of dinner, and Austin was glad. He was happy to have a reason to look down, as opposed to at his parents. They'd lied to him. Again. Of course, he'd expected it, but that didn't mean that it hurt any less. Austin wasn't used to feeling hurt like this all the time. It was started to drive him mad. Once again, he wished Emma were here, but this time just so he could confide in someone. She was his sister. She'd understand, even when no one else could.

Austin did the dishes in complete silence, and not even Dez tried to break the atmosphere. They all could sense that something was wrong, but none of them dared to ask, probably because they didn't want to hear what was so bad that it would bring down Austin Moon.

Afterwards, Austin escaped to his room, and was happy to find that no one had followed him. He needed some time alone. He jumped into his bed and, glancing back to make sure the door was shut, he opened his sister's diary to a lyric page.

_Do you ever feel like breaking down? _

_Do you ever feel out of place? _

_Like somehow you just don't belong,_

_And no one understands you. _

_-Welcome to my life, Simple plan. Jace taught it to me. Nice, huh? _

Austin sighed. She mentioned the other kids a lot in the journal. Austin had nightmares about what she must've gone through, watching everyone she'd ever met in that cage die in front of her. Often, she tried to write about them in a more positive way, quoting things they'd said, songs they'd taught her. She never talked about when they died, and Austin was glad. He didn't want to read about it.

"Austin?"

Austin slammed the book shut and looked up at his mother, who was peeking in around the door. "Yeah?"

"Something's bothering you." She said, saying it like a statement as opposed to a question. She invited herself in and came and sat down next to him.

"Yeah." Austin admitted. "But I don't want to talk about it."

His mother regarded him for a moment, than sighed. "Okay." She said. "But if you ever want to talk, about anything, you know I'm here for you, right? Your father too. You can tell us anything."

"I know." Austin said, even though it was a big, fat lie. He could never talk to them about his issues with them. They could never know that he knew who Emma was.

His mother smiled at him, and stood up to leave, just as Dez was coming into the room. Looks like his private time was over. Dez didn't try to talk, and instead simply collapsed on his makeshift bed. He was asleep within seconds, a talent Austin now wished he had.

Austin sighed deeply and tucked his sister's book under his pillow, something he'd been doing for a while. He got up and, tiptoeing, made his way around Dez, turned off the light, and found his way back to his bed without tripping on anything. He cuddled under the blankets, eyes wide open, his mind still spinning from too many thoughts and emotions.

Looks like it was going to be another long night.


	4. Writer's Block

**Hello again peps! Yeah, I don't really have much to say right now…. My mind is super muddled because I've got alma's music box playing in my ears right now. It's distracting… and excitingly creepy. Anyways, here's the third chapter, technically speaking. I don't think there's any song in here… just a second…. Nope, I'm good. Just a few lyrics. Anymahoos, enjoy! **

**(**_**You already died…. In your dark and sickened mind…**_** Argh! I'll be replaying that in my head for the rest of the night. Dang it. Love you alma!)**

**Disclaimer: I'm sure we can all agree that I don't own this awesome series. Well, I own the stories of this particular series, just not the characters… and most of the songs…. Argh, you know the drill. **

"No… no… that's horrible…. Argh! Why is this so difficult?!"

Ally was currently sitting in Team Austin's practice room, sprawled across the recently added couch they'd gotten for the area. She had a pencil in one hand and her precious songbook in the other, having arrived there early to write more lyrics. The problem was, Ally's muse seemed to have abandoned her in her hour of need- again. She couldn't think of anything at all, and none of her previous lyrics fit with the song idea she had. It was extremely frustrating.

"Holding on to a fragile flower…. What was I thinking? The tears of your heart cry… ha, I remember that one, but no. Oh my goodness!" Ally flung her book down to the ground in irritation. She threw her head back dramatically against the cushion, and sighed. "Austin was right." She said to herself. "I am a drizzle of darkness."

"Ally?"

Speak of the devil. Ally turned her head and gazed woefully at her friend. "Yeah?" She said.

He gave her a half smile, and walked further into the room, closing the door behind him. "What's up?" He said.

Ally sighed again, making sure that Austin could her it loud and clear. "I can't come up with any new lyrics for the song." She said. "I've been abandoned by my muse."

Austin's smile widened. "I thought I was your muse." He said with mock hurt.

Ally sat up, and regarded him with a smile of her own. "That's right." She said. Her smile grew wider. "So I can blame you for my writer's block."

Austin put up his hands in defeat. "Yep, it's all my fault." Austin said. "I snuck into your room last night and sucked all the creativity out of your brain with my awesome brain sucking powers."

Ally laughed. "Brain sucking powers?" She asked.

"I didn't tell you about that? Yeah. I got hit by a blast of radiation last week. I have super powers now." He joked, still smiling.

Ally gave him her best glare, which wasn't very effective seeing as she was still smiling from his joking. "Well, how about you use those super powers and give me back my creativity?" She told him.

Austin considered this for a moment, then said "No."

"Why not?"

"Because you didn't say 'please'."

At this, Ally turned over, grabbed her pillow from underneath her and threw it at Austin's face. Austin, not being used to those sorts of shows from Ally, was absolutely unprepared. The pillow knocked him right off the stool he'd sat down on and Austin lay sprawled across the floor. For a moment, his face registered nothing but shock. Then he burst out laughing. Ally just gazed on triumphantly with a smile off her own.

"What's going on in here?"

Ally looked over to the doorway and smiled at Trish, who was glaring at the two of them with her hands on her hips. It took Austin a few moments to calm down before he could greet Trish with a wave and a smile.

"We were just talking." Ally answered Trish. She came into the room and sat down on the couch next to Ally, forcing her to fully sit up.

"Sure you were." Trish said, clearly not believing her. "Were you, perhaps, talking about your new song, then?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Ally answered. She grabbed her songbook from where she'd put it down earlier. "I'm having problems finding lyrics."

Trish wasn't happy with that. "Well, get a move on with it!" She said. "We need a new song by Friday. Austin has to perform it at the beach."

"I know, I know." Ally assured her. "I'm sure I'll come up with something. Austin and I will be working on it all day."

"Good." Trish said. Austin raised his eyebrows at that, and exchanged a knowing smile with Ally. Trish had been getting a little too obsessive with all her manager duties over the past month. She said she was trying to make up for lost time. Ally thought she just needed something to do, now that she was running low on job options. Despite her arguments that there were always new jobs, a person could only get fired so many times.

Trish turned to Austin, moving on to a new topic. "Where's Dez?" She asked.

Austin chuckled slightly. "He's out getting more jam." He said. "He ate through his supply last night."

Trish's eyes went wide. "He keeps, like, twelve jars of jam in that bottomless backpack of his." She argued.

"I know." Austin told her. "But Dez really likes jam."

Ally just rolled her eyes. It was true that Dez had an obsession with jam. It was actually the only obsession of his that had lasted through the time she'd known him. His backpack was usually filled with whatever held his interest that particular day. He'd been known to pull ice sculptures, hams, paintings and on one fateful day, beehives, out of that backpack. It actually kind of creeped her out.

"Well, then, I'd better be going. I have some important manager stuff to do." Trish announced, putting on an important look. She stood up and flounced off, no doubt to go gossip on tweeter or rummage through a new fashion magazine.

Austin just stared at her back as she left, confused. "Does that mean she would have stayed if Dez had been here?" He asked.

Ally let out a bark of laughter. "I think so." She said. "I believe Trish just admitted to caring about our ginger friend." She couldn't wait to nag Trish about it later. She was careful about hiding any feelings she may have toward Dez, so Ally loved it when she let slip that she may actually care about him, even they all already knew it.

"Well, we already know she likes him." Austin said. Both ruminate this for a couple of moments in silence. Then, in a rather abrupt change of topic, Austin asked "You wanna go for a walk?"

Ally scrunched her eyebrows together. "What for?" She asked him back.

"To get your creative juices flowing." Austin said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Although, there was a slight pink tinge to his cheeks that suggested he wasn't being completely honest. However, Ally decided to let it go, seeing as she really did need to get her creative juices flowing.

"Okay." She answered, getting up. Austin smiled at her and followed her out the door.

Now, we need to get one thing straight. When normal people say they're going to 'go for a walk', this generally means taking a lovely stroll around the neighbourhood. But Austin and Ally weren't normal people, and this wasn't just any old stroll, it was a search for creative inspiration. No, Austin and Ally didn't actually go on 'walks'. What they did was a lot closer to an 'outing'.

The two started at the beach, like they always did. The sun was high in the sky and as hot as ever. Children were running everywhere and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was like music to Ally's ears. Ally used to hate the beach and had had a fair bit of anxiety about going in the ocean after watching a documentary about shark/human encounters, but last year she'd had to write a song about having fun at the beach. The subsequent adventure had led to Ally developing a new love for the sandy shores of Miami.

Though there was a lot of fun to be had, Ally found no creative inspiration there, so the two quickly moved on. They went straight to the arcade, a place Ally didn't like to go. It was more for Austin's sake than hers that they went there on their 'walks'. Needless to say, inspiration was nowhere to be found.

The two of them then made their way to the fair. Ally wasn't much of a ride person, but she often found that the joy of other people could inspire her in some way. But not today. It really was as if her muse had abandoned her.

And so it was, several hours later, that the pair found themselves sitting on a bench in the mall, dejected and without lyrics.

"It's hopeless." Ally finally said after a fair bit of silence. "The only thing that's been coming to me are a bunch of miserable lyrics. I mean, look at this one." She pulled out her book and opened it to a page, showing Austin. "'Nobody wins when everyone's losing'. What was that even supposed to mean?" She sighed in frustration, laying down on the bench. "I'm like a cloud in the sky. I only bring darkness."

"That's not true." Austin said defiantly. "Clouds are really pretty." Ally gave him a quick 'you're not helping' look, but he sped on. "I know you'll come up with something. You always do."

Ally was touched by his faith in her, even though he'd shown it many times before. However, she wasn't as sure as he was that she'd be able to come up with something.

Another few moments of silence dragged on before Ally spoke again. "Do you have any ideas?" She asked him. Normally, she wouldn't dare ask him to help out with lyrics. He was a terrible songwriter. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

To Ally's complete surprise, Austin immediately comes up with something. "_Like a bird with broken wings, it's not how high he flies, but the song he sings_." He hummed it to a tune she didn't recognise, but liked anyways.

Ally sat up, and stared at him in shock. "That's amazing." She told him. "Where in the world did you come up with that?"

Austin, again surprising Ally, looked down at his hands with a small smile on his face, blushing again (He'd been doing that a lot around her lately). Austin took a few moments to answer her. He said "It's… something Emma wrote. She sang it to me when I was… you know… locked up."

This was news to Ally. She had known that Emma and Austin had grown close during their time together, and that Emma wrote a lot of song lyrics. But he'd never mentioned before that she had sung him anything. She wondered fleetingly if Emma had a good voice, before telling herself it didn't matter. What mattered was that she was a good song writer, and Ally was desperate.

"Do you think she'd mind if I borrowed those lyrics?" Ally asked, songbook in hand.

Austin smiled at her. "Probably not." He said, then, his smile fading slightly, he added "Even if it did bother her, she's not here to complain about it."

Ally sighed. Why did he keep doing this to himself? He was torturing himself with memories of her. It wasn't healthy. He needed to accept that she was gone and move on with his life. Ally hated how much he was bothering himself with it.

No you don't, a traitorous voice spoke to her in her head. You're just annoyed that he cares about her so much.

Ally shook the thought away the second it entered her mind. It was ridiculous, after all. Why would she be bothered because Austin cared about another girl? A girl that wasn't even around, no less. She had no reason to feel that way.

"Well, I'm going to use it." Ally said after an awkward silence, noting it down. She looked at it in her book, and felt something stir in her chest, making her smile. "Maybe I'll be able to write this song, after all."

Austin smiled at her and stood up, offering his hand to her. She took it, feeling a warm spark from where their hands connected. It surprised her, but in a nice way. She could still feel it when he let go.

"We should head back to the Sonic Boom." Austin said, already leading the way.

Ally was about to follow, until something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She wasn't entirely sure what it was about the figure that made her turn in the first place. It was as if she could sense the figure's eyes on her.

Whoever it was, he or she was shrouded in shadows, making it hard to see the face. Ally narrowed her eyes, trying to see better. The person was tall, about six feet or more, and had a long coat on that wasn't at all appropriate for the weather. There was no sign of long hair flowing in the mind, and she could just make out the shape of a hat- a fedora, maybe?- on their head.

And whoever it was, was standing perfectly still, watching them.

"Ally?"

Ally turned to look at Austin. "What is it?" He continued.

Ally looked back at the person, only to find an empty space. She nearly jumped five feet in the air from the disappearing act. Austin no doubt saw her go pale, and he reached out to take her hand. She gripped it back.

"There was someone there." Ally told him, pointing out the spot she'd seen the person. "They were watching us."

Austin's eyes immediately narrowed, his body tensing. Ally was glad he believed her, but his reaction worried her a bit. He was a pop star, after all. Was it really that strange to have someone stare at you from the shadows? Then again, there had definitely been something eerie about that figure, something that made Ally's skin crawl.

"Let's go." Austin said simply, his tone completely serious. Ally agreed wholeheartedly, and refused to let go of his hand the whole way back to the sonic boom.


	5. Homecoming

**Okay, here it is. The fourth chapter. Be prepared for a bit of a certain albino. I'm in a pretty good mood, I think it kinda shows here. Listening to the Austin and Ally soundtrack right now! This not a love song! Hehe… **

**Anyways, the next few chapters are kind drama centered, and I think you'll get why after this chapter. Wow, writing is hard when you're listening to music. I'm sorry if the author's note isn't entirely coherent. So, without further straining my brain, here it is! **

**Disclaimer. I do not own Austin and Ally or their awesome soundtrack that is currently distracting me so. **

**Enjoy!**

Austin was worried.

He had a lot to worry about, after all. Ally still hadn't finished the song, and his performance was tomorrow, technically his first performance since Toronto. Then there was the figure Ally mentioned, the person who had been watching them. The whole idea of being watched like that gave him chills. And of course, there was his sister. Always his sister. Was she okay? Was she coming home? There was an endless supply of worries when it came to her alone.

So it was no surprise when his best friend noticed his mood.

"What's up?"

Dez and Austin were both sitting on the counter at the Sonic Boom, waiting up on Trish and Ally, who had gone to the food court for some food. Dez was eating his way through his jars of jam, taking advantage of Ally's absence to flaunt the store's rules. Dez was looking at Austin with a serious look, something that looked so wrong on Dez's face it was almost funny.

Austin looked down, not wanting to meet Dez's gaze and accidentally reveal something. "Nothing, really. I'm just thinking about stuff."

Dez gave a dramatic sigh of exasperation. "Austin, I'm your best friend. I can tell when you're not telling me something."

Darn Dez and his almost mystical insight of Austin's mind. If only he could be as oblivious as he sometimes acted. "Okay." Austin admitted. "I'm worried."

"About the song?" Dez assumed. Austin nodded, since technically, it was true, if not the whole truth.

"Don't worry." Dez said dismissively. "Ally will come up with something." Dez went to put his spoon back in the jar he was holding, and frowned when it came back up empty. "Man, this stuff goes fast." He noted. Austin smiled.

"Maybe you should try eating something else." Austin suggested jokingly. Dez didn't grace that comment with an answer.

"Anyways," Dez said, back on the song thing. "Since when do you worry about that sort of thing? You and Ally have pulled tons of all-nighters to finish songs."

"I know." Austin said, not sure what else he could say without admitting outright that it wasn't his only worry.

Dez suddenly lit up with a smile, an idea plainly written all over his face. "I know what you need." He said. He turned around and opened up his backpack, digging through the contents. Austin could swear he had a black hole or something in there, he could pull so many things out of it. He finally found what he was looking for, and he came back up. In his hands was a painting of a pair of kittens. Austin felt his heart melt at the cuteness, as well as a fair bit of awe at his friend's artistic talent.

"Kittens!" Dez exclaimed. "They'll make everything better." He offered the painting to Austin.

Austin took the painting, smiling like a goofy child. He was a sucker for cute things. "Thanks, Dez." Austin said.

Dez smiled back at him. "So," He said. "I'll let these guys keep you company while I go get some more jam and jelly. Don't be afraid to tell them everything. They're great listeners." The funny part was that he was absolutely serious, but Austin didn't laugh.

"Hold on a second-" Austin started, but before he could finish the sentence, Dez was out the door. Austin sighed, and gazed down at the cute little kittens. "I guess it's just us now." He said to them. The sound of the door opening and closing corrected him. "Well, you, me, and a customer." It was the reason Dez and Austin had been stuck in the store in the first place, as opposed to being at the food court with the girls. Ally had often recruited them to watch the store for her for a few minutes.

Austin jumped off the counter to greet the customer, and frowned as he took in the sight of said customer. The person was quite small, the size of a kid, with no sign of a parent anywhere. The clothes were dirty and worn, as if this kid had spent a few nights on the street.

But the strangest thing of all was that the kid was covered completely from head to toe. Pants, a sweater, a hat, and even a pair of gloves covered every part of their body that, for normal people, would be exposed in this heat.

Austin took a hesitant step forward, trying to get a glimpse of the kid's face. No such luck. The kid's head was bowed down, in a type of hesitancy that was almost familiar to him. Actually, the kid didn't move at all, in any way. He/She just stood there, right in the middle of the store. Austin took another step forward.

"Hello?" Austin said, almost like a question. "My name's Austin Moon. Can I help you?"

"I know who you are." Said a light, child-like, and wonderfully familiar voice.

Austin's heart leapt several feet, and his spirits soared. Was it...? Could it be...?

"Emma?" Austin asked quietly.

Finally, the kid looked up, showing a pale face, white hair and red, red eyes that Austin would recognise anywhere.

"Hey Austin." Emma said with a grin.

Austin let out a joyous laugh, and he ran forward, smiling, scooping up his sister in his arms. She hugged him back, her own face split into an identical smile. He went so far as to spin her around, which caused her to let out a squeal.

"Long time, no see." Austin finally said, after putting her down on the ground. The siblings were still smiling at each other.

"I know." Emma said, with a little bit of guilt. "I wanted to go with you, really, but I couldn't, you know? I had to find things. I had to find answers."

"It's all right." Austin said. "I get it. I'm just glad you're home."

Emma's smile faded slightly. "I don't know… There's a lot I need to tell you." Emma said. "But first thing's first: I need to get out of the daylight. It hurts."

Austin knew that she meant it. He could see it in her face, her eyebrows scrunched together, a slight strain on her smile. He could only imagine what sort of effect daylight would have on her after spending nearly ten years in the dark. Added to her albinism, it was no surprise she couldn't stand the daylight.

Mind you, she never could, not even when they were kids.

"Come on." Austin said, ushering her forward. She followed him, and he led her up the stairs into the practice room. She waited at the door while he pulled the curtains over the windows. It was something that was rarely done and caused the room to go nearly pitch black, which was great for Emma but a bit of a problem for Austin. Emma solved the problem by pulling out a series of small red plug-in lights from her backpack and plugging them in all over the room.

When they were done setting up, Emma let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." She said. "You have no idea how hot a girl can get in a sweater in this weather." She pulled off her sweater as she said it, revealing a flowing, dark blue t-shirt underneath. It made her small frame look even more slender.

"I can imagine." Austin said, recalling a few times he'd done so for the sake of fashion. He'd quickly lost interest in fashion after those experiences. Emma gave him a quick smile, before taking in the full sight of the room, and becoming completely distracted.

When Emma had first convinced him she was his sister, he'd started to notice certain similarities between them. They had the same smile, the same ability to get distracted by random things, and the same fascination with the world. But most prominent of all was their shared love of music. So it was no surprise to Austin that she was immediately and completely mesmerised by the various instruments that littered his practice studio.

"Oh. My. God." Was her first reaction. As if pulled by some magnetic forces, she made her way over to the pile of instruments, taking it all in with wide eyes. "You have everything! Guitars, violins, drums, trumpets, piano… You must never get bored!" She said to him. Austin smiled at her enthusiasm.

"You can play whatever you want." He told her. "Besides, that song you wrote for me needs a tune. I was kinda hoping you'd help me out." Never mind the fact that he had no intention of playing it anytime soon.

Emma gave him a look that stated clearly that she thought he was being stupid. "Duh. You think I write songs without giving them tunes? I don't think so. Of course I'll teach it to you. You need to sing it to Ally."

And there was the uncomfortable topic he'd been trying to avoid. "Yeah," He started. "About that…"

Emma gave him a scrutinising look as his voice trailed off. After a moment, she guessed "You haven't told her."

Austin nodded solemnly. For a second, she seemed a little disappointed, but after a moment she perked right back up. "Of course not." She said. "But that's what the song's for, isn't it?"

Austin refrained from saying anything to that. In a desperate attempt to change the topic (why on earth did he bring it up in the first place?), Austin asked "What are you doing here, anyways? I mean, I'm happy to see you, but I didn't think I'd be seeing you anytime soon."

Well, it certainly worked to change the topic. Emma's face fell, again stunning him by her remarkable mood swings. A frown crossed her lips and her eyes turned troubled, which looked almost ominous with the red in her eyes that was such a contrast on her pale face. She sighed deeply, and, forgetting about the instruments for a moment, sat down on the floor, like she used to when Austin had been taken.

"Me neither." She agreed with him. "But I had to come home. I couldn't leave you alone. They're coming. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a year, but regardless. It's not safe… not safe anymore. They're coming for me… They'll always come for me… Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. All we can do is fight…" A frown suddenly came across her face, and Austin recognised the struggle in her eyes. His sister wasn't exactly sane, you see, and it wasn't the first time he'd seen her slip into incoherence. It scared him every time, but what she was saying, however incomprehensively, added to his worry.

Emma finally got hold of her thoughts, and gave a quick shake of her head to keep her grounded. "Oh, wow." She said, giving Austin an apologetic look. "That was bad… Sorry. I guess I've been having trouble focusing lately." There was something about the way she said that that made Austin's skin crawl.

"What do you mean?" Austin asked, as gently as he could. She blinked at him a few times, and opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, a loud bang announced the presence of someone entering the room. Emma immediately let out a squeal of shock, and with speed Austin didn't know she had, she dove behind him, hiding her face in his sweater. Austin gave her a reassuring pat on the arm and turned to face the people who had intruded on their conversation.

It was his friends. Ally, Trish, and Dez.

None of them seemed to notice anything at first, until Dez went to switch on the light and Austin yelled at him to stop. He did, all three of them looking at him with wide eyes, identical looks of shock mirrored on their faces, shock that only increased when Austin finally explained.

"Guys, meet Emma."


	6. First Impressions

**Hey guys! I'm back and ready with the next chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, mainly because Emma's in it. I love including her in the story. Anyways, don't be shy to tell me what you think about the other's reaction to Emma. I love every review I get. Sometimes, I go back to my favorite reviews for inspiration. Keep it in mind! **

**Disclaimer: I be not the owner of Austin and Ally (Disclaimers are starting to get fun to write)**

**Enjoy! **

Ally contended with a lot of crazy things in her life. And- at the risk of sounded egotistical- she tended to handle them pretty well. But this, meeting the infamous albino Emma on an ordinary Thursday afternoon, well, it certainly took the crazy cake.

Ally had stepped out with Trish for all of ten minutes to grab a bite to eat, having left the boys in charge of the store. It wasn't long after that that the two of them spotted Dez returning from the store, his arms overloaded with jars of jelly. The girls had rushed over to help, and then had decided they'd better return to the store. Leaving one of the boys alone on a store of breakable things wasn't exactly a good idea. Ally had been surprised the find no one on the main floor of the store, and had been even more surprised to find the practice room plunged in darkness and a red glow.

When she saw Emma poking her head out from behind Austin, she didn't know what to feel.

"Guys, this is Emma." Austin introduced, urging her out from behind him as he said it. The albino gave him a half scared, half dirty look, but she didn't fight back and stepped out into the open.

Either the girl had lost a few pounds since she escaped the basement, or the camera view she had had of her had been deceiving, because the albino Ally was looking at at that moment was smaller than the girl she remembered. Her arms and legs were like twigs, not quite to the point of unhealthy but not exactly healthy either. Her skin was different too, so very pale and white, almost translucent. Her white hair was long and tangled, looking like she hadn't brushed it in a little while. But all that was nothing when compared to her eyes.

They were just so RED. Ally had known that albinos had red eyes, but when she'd seen pictures, they'd always looked a bit more pink then red to her. With Emma, that was not the case. The colour of her eyes could only be compared to the colour of blood, and even though those eyes were wide and nervous, they still sent shivers down Ally's spine. There was something wrong about those eyes.

The silence was beginning to get uncomfortable, and Ally was suddenly seized by a panic. What should she say? What could she say? She'd been fearing this moment for a while. Ally didn't want their lives to be interrupted by this girl. But she couldn't say that out loud.

Trish spared her the grief of finding something to say by being the first to introduce herself. "Hello," She said, using her best nice voice. "I'm Trish. Austin's told us so much about you."

Emma gave her a scrutinising look, and then a soft smile crossed her face, one that was a cross between sadness and amusement. "No he hasn't." She whispered, so quietly that it was a wonder that Ally heard it at all. Then, more loudly, she added "It's good to meet you." She turned to Dez. "And you must be Dez."

"Yep, that's me." He said, a big grin on his face. It astonished Ally that he didn't seem at all fazed by Emma's sudden appearance, but then, not much could faze Dez.

Emma finally turned to Ally, and as she did, she smiled a smile that was almost… devious. It was the first expression Ally had seen on her face that didn't make her look like a defenseless child. It didn't help with Ally's immediate impression of the albino. "And you're Ally." She said, still looking like she had some sort of diabolical plot. "Austin told me so much about you." She continued. "He said-"

Her words were cut off by Austin, who had clamped a hand over her mouth, his eyes wide and slightly panicked. She didn't fight against his hold, and simply looked up at him in amusement. He gave her a stern look, and it was as if some sort of unseen message passed between them. Emma crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him for a second, apparently agreeing to something. Whatever it was warranted Austin letting her go.

Ally decided to ignore the exchange.

"So," Ally said, a bit louder than was necessary. "What brings you to Miami?"

Emma tilted her head at her, considering the question. "Lots of things. Well kept secrets. Unexplained phenomena. A religious cult out for my blood. You know, all the fun stuff." Ally couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

The rest of the group regarded her with a shocked expression, until Trish said "Go back to that last one again."

"The religious cult? Yeah…" She sighed and, taking Ally by surprise, sat down on the floor, playing with her fingers. "I don't really know much about it. They're the reason mom and dad gave me away. I think. And apparently, I'm still wanted. I don't know."

Ally wasn't sure if Trish really caught what she'd said, mainly because she still looked shocked by the albino's seating choice. Looking distinctly uncomfortable, Trish pulled up a chair, and said hesitantly "Do you…uh… want a chair?"

Emma looked up at the chair, regarding it as if it were some alien creature that would cause her harm. "Um… no." She said, as politely as possible. "I'd rather sit on the floor, thank you."

Well, Ally supposed, if she'd been living in the basement since she was four, she probably wasn't accustom to sitting in chairs. Still, something bothered her about it, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe it was the fact that it symbolised a rough childhood. Maybe it was just the fact that it was such a strange habit.

Or maybe it was the look of amusement, crossed with fondness, written on Austin's face as he looked down at her.

Whatever it was, Ally was suddenly eager to find out more about this albino she'd heard so much yet so little about. She wanted to know what could make Austin look at her like that.

"So," Ally said, clapping her hands together the way she does when she's a little nervous. "How long do you think you'll be in Miami?"

"A while." She said vaguely, already looking past Ally to everything else in the room. Her eyes fell on the piano pretty quickly, and they went wide. She turned to Austin with wide eyes, an eager expression on her face. "Can I play?" She asked him.

He smiled at her gently. "Not right now." He said. "We need to figure out where you're going to stay… and how to get you some new clothes." He frowned while he said the last part, taking in her clothes. As Ally followed his gaze, she realised that he was right. Though her shirt and black pants were very pretty, they were also worn and dirty. She needed something else if she was going to be seen in public. She'd also need a hairbrush. And shampoo. And maybe a bar of soap.

"Why doesn't she just stay with you?" Dez said to Austin, with that 'isn't it obvious?' look on his face again. Ally felt suddenly panicked, thinking of Emma and Austin spending so much time together. What if it brought back too many bad memories? What if it brought Austin into a dark mood? Could Ally trust Emma not to be a bad influence? There were so many reasons Ally could think of as to why they should not be staying under the same roof.

Although, Ally found she didn't have to voice a single argument, because as soon as Dez suggested it, both Emma and Austin's eyes went wide and they shouted simultaneously "No!"

Ally, Trish and Dez all narrowed their eyes at the pair in confusion. Austin tensed in discomfort, as did Emma, making them look creepily alike. Emma was the one who broke the silence. "That would be bad." She said. "Too many people. People shouldn't see me. People don't like me." Ally could sense that there was truth to her words, but she couldn't shake the sense that there was something she didn't know.

Ally didn't like not knowing things.

"Okay…" Trish said uncomfortably. "Then you can't stay with me. Or Dez, because he's always with Austin. That just leaves Ally."

All four of the others turned their gaze to Ally, and she had to fight down a panic. Emma? Stay with her? No. Absolutely not. But then again, she was the only one who didn't live in a busy neighbourhood. She was also, technically, the only one with a guest room. She had no good reason to say no, besides the fact that Emma creeped her out. And she could tell that Austin trusted Emma completely, so it's not like she could voice her discomfort to him. But could SHE trust Emma? Ally looked back and forth between the albino and her friend, trying to judge their relationship. She hadn't moved more than a foot away from Austin since Ally had entered the room. Emma clearly drew comfort from his presence. Austin liked Emma. A lot. A blind person could see that. Ally supposed that she would just have to trust Austin judgment of her for now, and see how things turned out.

After all, she still owed Emma for saving Austin's life.

"All right," Ally said, trying to smile. "I guess you can stay with me."

"Okay," Emma responded timidly, smiling down at the floor. Behind her, Austin mouthed a sincere 'Thank you', which brought a true smile to Ally's face.

"Well, then, now that that's settled, we need to get you some clothes." Trish said, smiling brightly. Ally knew that it was more at the prospect of buying clothes for herself than it was at buying clothes for Emma.

Emma just smiled at her, shaking her head. "I can't go outside right now." She told them. "The sun's still up."

So, she couldn't stand the sun. That was actually one of the least surprising things about her, in Ally's opinion. She remembered reading somewhere that Albinos often had difficulty with the sunlight because of the lack of pigment in the skin. However, the other two seemed a little more surprised at that, particularly Dez, who pulled his eyebrows together in thought, saying "You can't stand the sunlight?"

She nodded, which only seemed to confuse Dez even more. "Huh." He said. "Just like Amelia."

Austin and Emma both froze, and Ally felt more confused than ever. Why did it seem like Ally knew less than everyone else about this girl? But no, that wasn't quite right. Trish was also getting annoyed by the lack of information, and she wasn't going to stand for this one. "Who's Amelia?" She demanded.

Austin looked down at the ground, suddenly troubled. Ally suddenly got the sense that this was one topic they shouldn't be touching on quite yet. Even Dez seemed to look guilty about bringing it up. Emma was frowning up at Austin, equally troubled.

"It's a long story." Austin said after a moment of silence. Trish, surprised by the discomfort the topic had brought on, didn't push him further. "Besides, it has nothing to do with the problem at hand. We can't just leave her here until nighttime. We need to find a way to get her to Ally's before…" Austin's voice trailed off, and he looked at Emma, almost as if asking for permission to keep going.

"Before what?" Ally asked, not willing to let it go.

Emma sighed sadly and looked down at the ground. "Before someone finds me." She said. She frowned in thought for a moment, then asked "How sunny is it right now?"

Ally thought about it for a moment. The windows were covered, but it had only been a little while since she'd been outside, so she could make an educated guess. "Not very, I'm guessing." She said. "Storm clouds were rolling in when we came inside."

"Okay," Emma said. "Then I can go to your place under the cover of the storm." She walked over to a dirty hat, sweater and gloves that Ally just noticed lying on the floor, and picked them up, regarding them with slight disgust. "There is no way that I'm putting this stuff back on again. Not until it's been washed. Ten times."

Everyone laughed at that. Ally found herself joining in, even though she was still tense from being in the same room as the albino. She hoped that no one could tell.

"All right." Austin said, once everyone had quieted down. "Then Ally will take you to her place in a little while. Trish and Ally can get you some clothes after that."

"Why are we the only ones going out to get her new clothes?" Trish asked, raising her eyebrows at Austin. "You're the one who knows her, after all."

Austin gave Trish a look of terror, and Ally had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh. Figures. A psychopath bent on killing you and torturing your friends? Sure, Austin could take that any day. Taking an hour to go shopping for girl clothes? Nope, that's too much for Austin Moon. How very guy-like of him.

"It's fine." Ally said with a smile, sparing Austin the torture of finding a decent answer. "We'll go out once we take Emma to my place." Austin look of intense relief almost sent Ally into a new fit of giggles. As it was, Emma couldn't quite contain it and had to cover her mouth with her hand to her laughter.

"Great." Emma said after a few moments. "When do we leave?"


	7. A Little Strange

**Hey. Yeah. Sorry it took a while to update. I'd been hoping to have this up sooner, but… well. Didn't work out. I'll get to work on the next chapter as soon as I can tomorrow, I swear!**

**I guess I don't really have much else to say. Aw well, it's midnight on a school night. You can't blame me for lacking in communication skills right now. **

**Disclaimer: I owneth not Austin and Ally **

Getting Emma out of the Sonic Boom was a lot easier than expected.

Ally had been right in her weather assumption. By the time Ally had locked up the store and sent Trish and the boys on their way home, rain was coming down in torrents, the sky emitting no light. Emma had positively beamed at the weather condition. She supposed that when one couldn't go out in the sun, their opinion of 'good weather' tended to vary.

Ally hadn't given Emma a whole lot of time to enjoy being outside, not wanting to get soaked herself, and had immediately ushered the albino into her car. It was brand new, a late sixteenth birthday present from her dad after she got her G2, and she was quite proud to be able to drive it places. Not that Emma had noticed its beauty. In fact, she seemed quite terrified for a moment before entering the car, and it occurred to Ally suddenly that Emma had probably never been in a car before, barring her first four years of life.

The ride to Ally's place happened in complete silence. Though Emma didn't seem uncomfortable by the quiet, Ally had grown more and more tense with each passing second. She felt like she should be saying something, maybe asking her some questions, but she just couldn't. Perhaps it was because her mind was still on the goodbye hug Austin had given Emma.

All these feelings stirring in Ally's chest… she didn't know them. She didn't understand them. And it was driving her crazy. She'd always felt uncomfortable when Austin had talked about her, but Ally had assumed that would go away when she met the girl. Instead, it had only gotten worse. Ally couldn't explain why she didn't like Emma. All she did know was that the girl gave her the creeps, and she absolutely did not like how close she'd already gotten to Austin. She'd lived most her life with a psychopath, after all. Who's to say none of that rubbed off on her?

That was mean, of course, but Ally couldn't help her suspicions.

Ally finally pulled up to her house, a nice two story place in a semi-country area. The houses weren't exactly distanced from each other, but there was a lot of tree coverage, so Emma wouldn't have to worry about nosy neighbours. All she did have to worry about was whether or not Ally's dad would be all right with Emma staying with them. Ally was pretty sure he wouldn't mind. He was gone so often as it was, he probably wouldn't even notice if they had a house guest.

Emma's eyes had opened wide as soon as she'd walked into the entrance, and she gazed around in wonder. In some ways, she seemed a lot like a newborn, seeing the world for the first time with fascination and wonder. It was kind of cute.

But then, in other ways, she seemed much, much older.

"You like it?" Ally asked, watching Emma hesitate to keep moving. She glanced back at her and gave her a quick nod. Ally tried to smile. "You're room is the first door at the top of the stairs. You can go check it out, if you want."

Ally couldn't tell if Emma had processed her words or not, seeing as she didn't react to them in any way. Instead, she just continued to slowly make her way into the house, taking in all the details, from the little pictures on the side tables to the TV mounted on the wall. Ally wasn't entirely sure why she had TV. She almost never watched anything on it.

Emma came to a stop in the middle of the kitchen. She set her hand down on the counter, and, after blinking a few times, seemed to fight off the initial wonder of the home. She looked back at Ally, her eyes slightly troubled. She asked "Is your dad going to be okay with me staying here?"

"Yeah," Ally started. "I'm sure he… wait, how did you know I live with my dad?" It was definitely not something she could've just assumed, after all.

Emma gave her a small smile. "Austin really did talk about you a lot." She said. "I think you kept him strong, when he wanted to give up. When he was dozing off with a concussion, I'd tell him sometimes to think of you. You're not supposed to sleep with a concussion, you see. He had to stay awake."

"I know." Ally said, trying desperately to hide how red that comment had made her go by looking down. A small smile crossed her lips as she thought about it. "That's really sweet of him."

Ally glanced up for a second, only to take in the sight of Emma staring at her with a shrewd expression, as if she was contemplating something. She bit her lip for a second, then, with a decisive look, she said "How do you feel about Austin?"

Ally knew, by Emma's innocently curious expression, that she meant no harm with that comment, but it sent Ally into a turmoil of emotions nonetheless. She could feel heat rush to her face, out of embarrassment or anger, she wasn't sure. What did she mean by that? Why would she be curious? She didn't… didn't like Austin, did she? She couldn't. She was what, twelve years old? Austin was sixteen. That sort of stuff didn't happen. And yet, Austin did talk about her all the time. It was obvious he cared about her, perhaps enough that he would reserve a special place in his heart for her…

"What do you mean?" Ally finally asked, the words coming out much harsher than intended. Emma didn't seem at all fazed by the harshness, however, and simply narrowed her eyes in increased curiosity.

"Well," She said. "Austin told me all about how he felt about you and his other friends. I just want to know if his friends feel the same way." Emma gave her a meaningful look, almost as if what she'd said had a double meaning. If it did, it was completely lost on Ally. All she felt was an increase of panic. Did Emma feel protective of Austin? Could very well be, with all they went through together.

"How old are you?" Ally blurted out. This would drive her crazy if she didn't find out, she knew, especially with this new idea forming in her head.

"Fourteen." She said, surprising Ally. "My birthday was a week ago."

Okay, so the age difference wasn't as great as she initially thought. But that's three years between the two of them nonetheless. Austin couldn't have feelings like that for Emma. She was just so much younger. Okay, so maybe three years wasn't that uncommon. It did happen at school often enough, after all. But this was Austin Moon. Why would he put his focus on a child, especially when there were much better candidates nearby?

Ally banished the thought the second it entered her head. Just the fact that she had thought it up made her nervous. She didn't have any deep feelings for Austin, after all. They were best friends. Perfect. In fact, it shouldn't bother her at all whether or not he might be interested in Emma.

_But it does_, a traitorous voice in her head spoke_. Maybe your feelings are a little deeper than you think. _

_Shut up_, Ally thought back.

"You didn't answer my question."

Emma's voice brought Ally back to reality. It took a little effort for her to remember the initial question, her thoughts had gone so far astray. Ally felt wary for a moment, and considered telling her to mind her own business. But looking into those red eyes, she found she couldn't do it. Sighing, Ally answered the question. "Austin is my best friend." She said. "I can depend on him for anything. He's always there for me, no matter what. He can be so sweet sometimes and he's just a nice guy. I can't imagine a life without him." That, at least, was true.

Emma considered Ally's words for a few more seconds, and then smiled at her, apparently happy with what she heard. "That's good." She said. "Very good…" She smiled that little devious smile again, and Ally's unease returned. It was incredible how much scarier a facial expression can be when red eyes are factored in.

Ally was distracted again, so it took her a moment to realise that something was off. Emma's voice had trailed off, that smile that made Ally so uneasy vanishing. She suddenly seemed extremely distracted, almost as if she was listening to something loud and nearby. It was as if she had veered into another world within a matter of seconds, as if she was no longer aware of her surroundings. And Ally had to admit, it was kinda scary.

After a couple seconds, Emma finally gave a quick and urgent shake of her head, dragging herself back to reality. She looked around, seeming confused for a second, then finally set her gaze on a shocked Ally.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, still sounding a little off.

"Hear what?" Ally asked, somewhat nervous.

Emma frowned for a second, and tilted her head slightly, as if listening. After a couple seconds she sighed, and turned her gaze back to Ally. "Nothing," She decided. "I must have been imagining it."

"Okay…" Ally said, not really wanting to pursue the topic any more anyways. She gave her watch a quick check and, realising how much time had passed, frowned. "I need to go, me and Trish are going to buy you some stuff. I'll call my dad and warn him that you're here, okay? You'll be fine if I leave?"

Emma nodded at her, even summoning a smile. Ally smiled back, and, with another worried glance at the time, sped out the door, locking it behind her.

Emma gave a deep sigh, watching Ally leave out the door with a stirring of unease. She didn't want to be left alone, not really. It wasn't because she was scared. She'd gotten over that fear at the age of five, after she'd been abandoned by her parents. No, what had Emma feeling uneasy was what had happened to her a few moments ago.

Those voices. It was those damned voices again.

They'd been going on for a week now, ever since she'd turned fourteen. She didn't really know how to describe them. At first, she'd honestly believed that it was all in her head, especially since she hadn't understood them. But they're voices were getting clearer, and easier to interpret. She tried so hard not to listen, but it was as if they were tugging her out if the world to talk to her, and it made it very hard to stay grounded. It was really starting to scare her.

She'd have to tell Austin.

Emma gave another sigh, this time, with a smile. She'd been beyond happy to see her brother again, and was at the point of ecstatic to learn how much he'd been missing her. It was an amazing feeling, to know there was someone who cared about you, someone who'd always care about you. Having a family again… it was priceless. She knew she'd made the right decision in coming home when she'd seen the look on his face as he realised it was her standing in the store.

Of course, Austin wasn't the only person in her life know. Austin's friends were her friends, so to speak. She was a little annoyed that he hadn't told them about her, but she understood his hesitancy. That basement… it took its toll. After what he went through, trusting people would be hard. Emma knew because she was in the same position. Still, it made her feel more distant from the other people in her brother's life.

It didn't help, of course, that Ally was jealous of her. When Emma had first noticed it, back at the store, it had taken all of her self-control not to burst out laughing right then and there. The thought of her and Austin feeling that way about each other was just that ridiculous. But Emma had decided to let it slide, for now. Ally needed a little push to realise her feelings for Austin, just as he'd needed a push to realise his feelings for Ally. A little bit of jealousy might just do the trick.

She just hoped she'd be around long enough to see it all unfold.


	8. Shopping Trip

**Hey guys! I know, I know, five days is a very long time to wait for updates. Sorry! I'll keep at it as fast as I can. **

**So, here we go. Chapter 7. Technically. Well, that's what it's marked as in the word document. Anyways, I hope you like it, it took three days of broken inspiration to write. **

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own Austin and Ally. **

It was still raining as Ally darted off to meet Trish at the mall, and it was one of those times where Ally wished the mall wasn't partially outdoors. The water was falling from the sky in torrents, soaking Ally to the skin in a matter of minutes. Trish, of course, was waiting for her in the food court under an umbrella, and thus was perfectly dry. She didn't comment on how wet Ally was when she approached, especially after taking in her expression.

"So where should we start?" Trish asked, once Ally had wrung some water out of her hair.

"Somewhere dry." Ally said grudgingly, shivering slightly from the coldness of the water. From now on, Ally decided, she'd carry an umbrella in her car with her.

"All right," Trish said, seeming glad that Ally didn't specify. Before Ally could make any protests, Trish grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to the nearest clothing store, which was thankfully only a few meters away.

It was clear to Ally within a few minutes of shopping that Trish was not here for Emma. She walked right past everything that wasn't her style- or size. After Trish had picked out six articles of clothing for herself, Ally resigned to the fact that she'd have to find clothes for the Albino herself.

Ally didn't spend a whole lot of time on her wardrobe, but she still thought of herself as having a pretty good eye for style. On the other hand, she had no idea what Emma liked, what her colour preference was, what kind of style she usually wore. The only thing she had to go by was what Emma had been wearing for the last few days. Well, she was assuming she'd only been wearing those clothes for a few days. For all Ally knew, she'd been in those clothes much longer. Actually, it was quite likely that she didn't have a particular style, especially after living her life in a basement.

Ally finally decided that her best option was to go by what would look good on the Albino while still fitting her frame nicely. That, of course, brought her immediately over to the children's section of the store.

Actually picking clothes out was a bit trickier. It would've been really simple if Emma was actually ten or eleven years old, as her size would suggest. But since she was actually fourteen, Ally had to be careful not to pick out anything that looked too young. She had a feeling that that would bother Emma. Ally also immediately ruled out anything red. It would bring out the colour in her eyes a bit too much for Ally's comfort, and besides, from what Austin had told her about Emma before, she wasn't exactly proud of her albinism.

It took Ally nearly a half hour of searching, but she finally laid her hands on two tang tops that would hang loosely around Emma's frame, one blue and one purple. She also picked out a white and blue pair of jean kaprees to go with the shirts. Looking at the ensemble, she felt satisfied that she had made good decisions. If she didn't like it, at least the others would.

Finding Trish was a bit more difficult than expected. It took Ally a couple minutes to locate her, and wasn't at all surprised to find her in the changing room. Trish came out of the room, flustered, with at least fifteen shirts overflowing from her hands. When Ally told her it was time to leave, she dumped all her clothes in the store worker's hands, claiming that none of them were right for her.

Ally just laughed, dragging her out of the store before the worker could express her frustration.

Ally was pleased to find that it wasn't raining anymore when they stepped out of the store. She was still damp from when she'd shown up.

"So what else do we need?" Trish asked, as the two starting wandering around the mall.

"We still need to get her a hairbrush and toothbrush, some toothpaste, shampoo, soap, a good pair of shoes, socks and maybe a straitjacket." Ally said, smiling at the last part.

Trish elbowed her in the side lightly, grinning. "Oh, come on." Trish said. "She's not that bad."

"You didn't see her when I brought her to my place." Ally told her. "For a moment there, I thought she was hearing things." She said it with a smile, but she felt some stirrings of anxiety when she thought back to the moment.

"Well, Austin likes her." Trish said, as if it should excuse any of Emma's possible insanity. "The way they were acting earlier, it's like they've known each other their whole lives." Trish had that smile on, the smile that told Ally that her friend was getting ready to play matchmaker. And Ally did not like it, not one bit.

Her earlier smile had completely vanished. "She doesn't know anything about him." Ally said, surprised at the hard tone of her voice. "They spend, what, like a week together? You can't develop a strong relationship over one week. There's no way that Austin could be closer to her than-" Ally clamped a hand over her mouth in shock before she could finish the thought. She could barely believe that she'd almost said that out loud.

Sadly, Trish had been listening to her, and had caught on to the missing word in a heartbeat. "Oh, my, god." She said, her eyes wide with shock- and excitement. "You're jealous. You're jealous of Emma. Jealous because of Austin." She was practically on the verge of squealing.

Uh oh, Ally thought. This is gonna be trouble.

At last, Trish finally did squeal, a short squeal of excitement that was accompanied by a small skip in the air. "You like Austin!" She exclaimed. "Ally Dawson likes Austin Moon!"

Ally groaned. It was just as she feared. "Stop saying that!" Ally exclaimed, giving her friend a hard stare. "I don't think of Austin that way. He's just my friend. My close friend. That's the only reason that I'm annoyed with Emma for."

"I'm Austin's close friend, and I'm not jealous." Trish pointed out.

"You're not as close to Austin as I am. I mean, we're music partners, after all. We spend more time together. We're inevitably closer to each other than to other people." Ally said. She hoped that if she repeated it enough times, Trish might believe her.

"Yes, you two are close. That's my POINT!" Trish said, clearly getting more and more frustrated. "Besides, you two are perfect for each other. You'd make the cutest couple." She was back to smiling that matchmaker smile.

"When did this conversation become about me and Austin being a couple?" Ally said, with perhaps a tint of panic in her voice. "Look, Trish, me and Austin… we're friends. We're good that way. Happy. You remember when he turned himself orange and sweaty just to turn me off when he thought he had a crush on me?"

"That was a year ago." Trish pointed out quietly. Ally decided to ignore her.

"It's like that. You shouldn't mess with a good thing. And I don't want to. Besides…" Ally paused as she thought of what she was going to say, wondering if it was a bit too risky. "He wouldn't feel that way about me, even if I did like him that way. He's Austin Moon, after all. Girls line up outside his door for the chance to see his face." It honestly happened, a bit too often for even Austin's liking.

Trish sighed and shook her head, giving in, knowing that Ally would not be swayed. But Ally had a feeling that it would not be the last time she heard about this particular topic. At least she knew that Trish would drop it eventually, especially since her opinion would never be swayed.

And yet, as they continued shopping, Ally couldn't help but wonder; why did she get so worked up over Emma's connection with Austin? Did she really sense something wrong with the girl? Or was it something else?... But no, it couldn't be. Trish was wrong. There was nothing between her and Austin.

They had to go to a couple more stores to find everything else they needed for Emma. The bathroom supplies were pretty easy to find. The shoes, on the other hand, were another matter. Trish was adamant that heels would do Emma worlds of good, and Ally had to keep reminding her that Emma had probably never worn heels in her life, and there was a chance she'd hadn't even worn proper shoes in years. Trish believed that Emma could learn quickly, but Ally won out the argument eventually and they ended up getting her a very plain pair of white sneakers.

The girls headed over to the food court as they finished up their shopping, as it was about supper time. They ordered pasta and sat down at the table, exhausted. Shopping really took a lot out of a person.

Ally took the time to call her dad and warn him about Emma. She pulled out her phone and dialled the number. Her dad answered after a couple rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey dad" Ally said, trying to talk above the noise in the background on her dad's end of the phone. He was at a cello convention.

"Hey sweetie. How are you?"

"I'm okay. So, anyways, a friend of Austin's came into town today, but she doesn't have a place to stay. Would it be okay if she stayed with us?" Ally hoped that Austin wouldn't mind her telling her dad that Emma was his friend.

"I suppose, but wouldn't it be better if she stayed with Austin?" Her dad answered.

"She can't. Austin's parents don't want to leave him alone with a girl." Ally didn't know where the excuse came from, but she was proud of it. It was probably one of the best excuses of her life.

Of course, her dad bought it completely. "Okay, honey. Make sure you get the spare bed ready."

"Alright. Bye."

Trish gave her a smile as Ally hung up the phone. "Since when are you such a good liar?" She teased. Ally just rolled her eyes.

They stayed in the food court for a while, chatting for so long that by the time they got up to leave, it was getting dark and the mall was virtually empty. Ally hadn't realised how quiet it had gotten, and chills immediately started running up her spine as the silence hit her.

"Ally?"

Trish's voice drew her attention right away, both because of the disruption in the sudden silence and the nervous tone to her voice, which was pretty uncharacteristic of Trish. "Yeah?" Ally asked.

She didn't move her sight from where it was pointed, somewhere beyond Ally. "I think someone's watching us." She said, tense with nervousness.

Ally's blood immediately ran cold. Without looking back, she asked "A tall figure shrouded in shadows? Looks like he might be wearing a hat?"

"Yeah," Trish said, now confused. Ally didn't give her time to ask questions, however. She simply grabbed her things and Trish and darted off, making straight for the parking lot and her precious car.

Trish kept glancing back as they moved, getting more and more tense every time she did. "He's following us." She said after a minute. Ally swore under her breath and picked up the pace. Trish did not object.

Thankfully, Ally was parked pretty close to the mall entrance, and they made it to the safety of the vehicle without being caught by the mysterious stalker. Ally wasted no time in speeding off, breaking a couple rules of the road in order to get away faster.

Trish was breathing hard, trying to calm herself. Not many things bothered Trish, but stalkers definitely did, particularly after what happened to Austin. Ally also had to breath deep, in order to calm her beating heart.

"Who was that?" Trish asked, after getting herself under control.

"I don't know." Ally told her. "But that's the second time I've seen him."

"That's really bad." Trish said. "Maybe we should go to the police."

"Yeah, because that worked out so great before." She said sarcastically. Ally was again shocked by her own tone of voice, but she couldn't help it. She'd been betrayed by the police when Austin had been taken. She hadn't fully trusted the police force since. Neither had Trish, so she let the suggestion go.

"Then what do we do?" Trish asked, leaning back in her seat.

"I don't know." Ally repeated. Although, she wasn't being entirely truthful. For one, she'd definitely tell Austin about it. He'd want to know, and she knew that if Austin thought any of his friends were in danger, he'd go to hell and back to protect them. She'd also need him to help her question Emma.

Because Ally was sure of one thing. After everything she'd said to them since she first arrived, there was no way that Emma wasn't somehow connected to this stalker. And God be damned if Ally was going to let her drag Austin into something dangerous… again.


	9. Revelations

**Hey guys! **

**So, I'm back. My inspiration did not, in fact, abandon me, as I had feared, but had just taken a break. T might've gone on a vacation to the Caribbean. I don't know what inspiration does when it leaves me, after all. **

**Anyways, after the last chapter, I got a few comments on the reviews that I would like to address. First, I know I've got a couple spelling mistakes in the story. So do published novels. Bear with me. Second, I know my story hasn't got as much action as the last one, but this isn't a suspense story, it's a supernatural romance story. It's also going to be longer than the last one. Every chapter is important, and I couldn't edit a single one out without having to make major changes to the story. Remember that. **

**So, with that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll have the next one up soon! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally**

Ally hadn't slept well that night.

She wasn't entirely sure what the reason behind it was. Maybe it was her anxiety over having Emma in the house, or maybe she was still nervous because of what happened at the mall. Most likely it was a combination of both. Then, when she finally had gotten to sleep, she'd been plagued by nightmares, nightmares which caused her to wake up in a cold sweat more than once.

Finally, morning came around, and Ally dragged her exhausted self out of bed. She made her way downstairs, to find that Emma was already up, sitting on the couch and trying to figure out how to work the TV. Ally was surprised. It was only seven in the morning, after all. On a weekend. All of her friends were still sound asleep at this time, usually.

"Hey," Ally said, walking up behind the girl, who was frowning at the remote and shaking it, as though that would get it to reveal its secrets. She looked up at Ally when she spoke. "You're up early." She commented.

"I don't sleep very well." She said, turning her attention back to the remote. "How does this thing work?" She asked.

Ally smiled and took the remote from her hands." Well," she started. "This button turns the TV on and off." She demonstrated by turning the TV on. "This one will bring you to the guide." She pressed the guide button. "And then you use the arrows to scroll to whatever channel you want." She scrolled down to teletoon, figuring it was a safe bet. "When you've reached the channel you want, you press enter. This controls the volume, but don't turn it up too loud, my dad's still asleep." He'd no doubt gotten back at some ridiculous hour of the morning. Ally handed the remote back to Emma, who looked at it in wonder. Then, losing interest, she put the remote down, and turned her expression to the TV, with an equally wonder-struck expression.

Ally grinned and left the girl to her discovery. She didn't like TV much, but she'd realised long ago that she was basically the only person in the world who didn't, so she figured it would keep Emma busy for a while.

Ally wandered into the kitchen and began putting herself together some breakfast. At the last minute, she realised she should be getting something for Emma, and called out to her "what would you like to eat?"

Emma turned to look at her over the couch with an eager expression. "Do you have any pancakes? I love pancakes. They're amazing, works of art and cooking. My favorite."

Ally stared at her in surprise. It wasn't exactly unusual for people to love pancakes, but… well… pancakes was Austin's favorite food, too. Ally wondered briefly if that had anything to do with the girl's preference.

She didn't dwell on it, however, and told her that she would make her some pancakes. Emma was thrilled, and Ally couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Her mood was contagious. Like Austin.

When breakfast was done, the two girls went upstairs to get ready. Ally sent Emma into the shower (after making sure she knew how to operate it) and went to get dressed. The girl needed the shower more than Ally did that morning. When she was ready, Ally went to wait downstairs for Emma, figuring that she'd be taking Emma to the shop with her.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Emma did make her way downstairs. Ally smiled to see her wearing her new clothes, the blue tang top and white capris. It looked great on her, as she'd predicted. She wondered for a second if getting her tops with no sleeves was wise, seeing as she couldn't go out in the sun, but she quickly dismissed the idea. The indoors wasn't cold, and she needed to blend in, anyways. Wearing sweaters or even long sleeves would stand out at this time in Miami.

Ally hadn't realised how dirty a person got when they were on the road for a week, and to be fair, it hadn't really stood out with Emma until she'd washed off all the grime. Her skin was now ivory and smooth, and her hair tumbled down in perfect white waves, even though her hair was still wet. In fact, if it weren't for the red in her eyes, Ally might've mistaken her for an angel. Possibly.

The two girls left for the Sonic Boom right after, blessing the skies for the cloud cover it provided. Ally did like the sun, but if Emma couldn't stand it, she wouldn't complain about its absence. She wondered, for a moment, what it was about the sun that bothered Emma in the first place. She made a mental note to ask her about it later.

When they got to the store, Emma darted straight to the piano like an eager puppy. She clasped her hands together in excitement, her eyes wide. "Can I play, Ally?" She asked, not so much as glancing away from the piano. "Please?"

"Sure." Ally said. There was no one in the store yet, anyways. It would do no harm to let her play while Ally set up.

Emma didn't hesitate. She sat down on the bench and punched a few keys, seemingly testing the sound. After a moment, she got a feel for it, and started to play.

Ally had to admit, for someone who had spent the majority of her life on a basement, she was pretty good. Okay, she was really good. To the point where Ally actually asked her "Where did you learn to play like that?"

Emma answered without faltering in her music. "One of the girls John captured was a piano teacher. She was actually the oldest person he'd ever taken. She taught me a lot. I figured out the rest on my own." Ally was sorry she asked.

A knock on the door distracted Ally. She turned over and saw Austin waving at her, clearly asking to come in. She smiled and went over, opening the door to let him in. She locked the door behind him as he walked in.

"Hey Ally," He said. Calling across the room, he added "Hey Emma!"

Emma glanced back for a moment to smile at him, but didn't stop playing. Austin just grinned in amusement. "Bet she shot straight for the piano the second you guys walked in." He commented.

"Yeah…" Ally said, her mood dimming a little. She was saved from having to comment further by another knock on the window. She turned, and was bewildered to see both Dez and Trish, both asking to be let in. Usually Austin was the only one to show up so early on a Friday, especially when it was a day off from school.

"Hey guys," Ally said as she opened the door for them. "What are you doing here so early?"

"What, can't a girl get up early to see her friend on a Friday morning?" She asked defensively. Looking over Ally's shoulder, she added "Is that Emma playing?"

"Yep," Austin answered, almost sounding proud. Ally had to hide a frown.

"She's really good." Trish said, not helping matters at all. Dez nodded in agreement.

"Thanks!" Emma called over from the piano. That's when Ally decided it was time to change the topic.

"So Austin," She started. "Me and Trish ran into a bit of a problem yesterday at the mall…" Ally explained what happened with the cloaked stalker. Trish butted in a couple times when she thought Ally had missed something. By the time she was done, Emma had stopped playing to listen in, and Austin was frowning in concern.

"That's the second time we've encountered this guy." Ally pointed out. "He was at the mall Wednesday, remember?"

"Yeah." Austin said, his frown deepening. "I don't like the sound of this guy at all." Trish and Dez were also frowning, both no doubt trying to come up with a solution.

In fact, the only one who wasn't frowning was Emma, who was still sitting at the piano bench, her shoulders slouched and her head down. She almost looked… guilty.

Ally's heart leaped. It was looking like her hunch had been right. Emma did have something to do with this stalker. She said "Maybe we should ask Emma about this guy."

All three of her friends turned to look at the albino. She didn't look up from the ground to face them. "Emma?" Austin said, walking toward her. "Do you know who this guy is?"

"He's…" She started, seemingly trying to find the right words. "He's probably part of the cult. Following me. I'm kinda wanted."

Ally decided to ignore that last part. "You mentioned the religious cult yesterday." Ally said. "What do you mean? Who are they? And why do they want you?"

"I don't know exactly why they want me." Emma answered. "Well, I kinda do, I guess. But I don't understand it. As for who they are, they're a widespread religious group. I suppose cult isn't really the right word. They're an organisation, one who deals with religious and supernatural powers and events. They work beneath mainstream society, and most people don't know about it. They have ties to law enforcement and government. Working against them is a bad idea."

"Then why are you working against them?" Trish asked.

Emma scoffed in exasperation. "Because I have to!" She said. "They aren't like the Men in Black! They aren't all good people. Most of them are downright cruel. From what I know, half of them want to kill me. The other half wants to use me for their own personal gain. They're practically mafia!"

Ally thought that might be stretching it a bit, but nonetheless, she didn't like the sound of this group at all.

"How do you know about Men in Black?" Dez asked. Of course, he would ask the most irrelevant question.

"I read a lot." Emma answered simply.

"Hold up." Austin said. His brow was furrowed in concentration, no doubt trying to keep up with the information. "Let's go back to what they want you for. What do you not understand?" Ally was proud of him for asking such a smart question.

Emma bit her lip nervously. "You remember what happened with John?" She asked. Austin nodded. "It has to do with that."

Austin's eyes went wide. He didn't ask any more questions, as if that small statement was enough for him. Ally, however, wouldn't stand for that alone. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them. "What happened with John?" Ally asked. She recognised the name. John was the guy who kidnapped Austin and held Emma hostage for so many years.

Emma and Austin glanced at each other, then back at Ally, as if deciding whether or not to say anything. Finally, Emma sighed, and she answered "I killed him."

Trish, who had been standing next to Emma, jumped back from the girl as she had the plague. Ally stared at her in shock, speechless. Austin, on the other hand, patted Emma's shoulder comfortingly, and said. "You had to. It saved my life- saved us both."

Austin's words didn't seem to comfort her much. "But I don't know how I did it!" She said. "I can't even remember what happened, and I remember everything! I have a perfect memory. It isn't possible." She seemed to grow more distressed the more she spoke.

"How did she do it?" Ally asked, addressing the question to Austin. She didn't blame Emma for killing the guy who killed so many others, but the fact still shocked her, making her confused as to what to think about the girl.

"She pushed him." Austin answered. "She shoved him away and he went flying. His head hit the wall really hard." Austin stopped there, not feeling the need to elaborate any more.

"But…" Ally started, taking in Emma's small frame and comparing it to her memories of the maniac, who was big and solid, much stronger then Emma. "How?"

"I don't know." Emma said. She climbed off the bench and sat on the ground, clutching her head with her hands, as if she had a headache. Austin watched her with worry. "It's these eyes." She kept going. "These damned eyes…" She made a motion, as if she was going to claw them out, but she just shook her head and clutched her knees instead.

"What do you mean?" Ally asked, beginning to feel desperate. It seemed like the more she got answers, the more questions were revealed.

It took Emma a few moments to answer, as if she were struggling to focus on the group. "I'm a doorway." She said. "I'm supposed to be a connection… between two worlds… A host…" She shook her head again, a bit more violently then before. She was clearly having difficulty staying focused on them. Ally felt the beginnings of worry herself.

"Emma, are you okay?" Austin asked. He seemed scared for her. Ally remembered Austin mentioning that Emma could slip into insanity from time to time. She wondered if that was what was happening to her now.

Emma just let out a moan and clutched her head again, covering her ears. "Make them stop." She said.

"Make who stop?" Austin asked her, but he didn't get an answer. She was starting to tremble, and she clenched her head tighter, her eyes scrunched tight. She was trying to block out some sort of sound, Ally realised. But no one was talking.

"Stop it!" Emma yelled, her voice shrill and high-pitched. "Stop talking! Stop it! Stop!"

As her voice's sound level reached its peak, there was a loud cracking sound, and all the instruments came crashing to the floor.


	10. The Truth Unveiled

**Yeah, sorry this took so long to post. I was actually away all weekend, so I had no time to work on it. Kalahari resort! Anyways, I've already gotten started on the next chapter, so hopefully I'll have it up soon. **

**I'd actually been planning to have this scene a little later in the story, you know, drag on some of the emotions and whatnot. But my gut told me that this was meant to happen now, and I always follow my gut (figuratively, of course, not literally. That would be kinda disgusting to watch) so here it is. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Austin and Ally ne m'appertienne pas (I really hope I wrote that right. It would suck, as a girl who grew up bilingual, if I couldn't even write in French properly) **

Ally was pretty sure her heart stopped beating when the instruments crashed to the floor, and she may or may not have let out a scream. The noise itself was enough to make a person jump several feet into the air. Add that to the fact that it was impossible, and would take hours to clean up, it got pretty scary.

"It's raining instruments!" Dez exclaimed. "Duck and cover!" The doofus dove under the piano and covered his head, as if that alone could protect him if instruments really had been falling from the sky, or rather, ceiling. The others promptly decided to ignore him, having learnt long ago that that was the best way to deal with Dez.

"What was that?!" Trish yelled, her voice strained, most likely from shock or fear- maybe both.

Austin and Ally both shook their heads incredulously. Ally, of course, had a theory, but it couldn't be… it defied all the laws of physics. Ally liked her laws of physics. Those are the rules that can't be broken. At least, that's what she thought.

Austin shook off his reaction quickly, and knelt down next to Emma, who had gone quiet and still when the instruments had come down. She sat on the ground, tucked in a ball, her head between her knees. She didn't move at all when Austin placed his hand on her back.

"Emma?" He asked gently, almost hesitant. He didn't want to agitate her.

Slowly, Emma dragged her head up and looked at Austin. Ally jumped back in alarm when she got a good look at her face. Her eyes… there was something wrong with them. They were almost… swirling. Like a black whole. It was unnatural. It was wrong. And it scared the crap out of her.

After a second, though, her eyes returned to normal. She blinked rapidly for a few seconds, adjusting to the scene, and managed to focus on Austin.

"I'm tired." She said simply. She looked tired, too. Her shoulders were slouched forward, her arms hanging limply. Her face was paler than usual and she had bags under her eyes that hadn't been there a few moments ago.

Austin didn't respond to her at first. He simply got up, then helped the albino to her feet. As soon as she was standing, she looked around, and seemed to notice the chaos for the first time. Her eyes went wide, and she gripped Austin's arm with both hands.

"I did that." She said, shock and panic in her voice. "I did that…"

"Austin, maybe you should get her out of here." Ally suggested. She didn't want Emma to become agitated enough to cause more damage.

Austin nodded in agreement, and then led the albino up the stairs into the practice room. Ally grimaced. That hadn't exactly been what she meant, but at least she was away from the main area of the store.

Ally turned to the two remaining people, and crossed her arms at them. "Well?" She asked them. "Are you going to help me clean up?"

Ally's tone of voice hadn't really given the two the option to decline, so they simply nodded, deciding to avoid the girl's wrath. The three of them immediately got to work, cleaning up the broken instruments and putting the ones that survived away. Not a whole lot of instruments did survive. Musical equipment was heavy, and a lot of what they had at the store was either displayed on shelves or on the wall. When they fell, they broke. Ally grew more and more distraught as they sorted through the wreckage. She was starting to dread facing her father later that day.

After a good forty-five minutes of cleanup, the three friends decided to take a break, and they all sat at the piano with drinks. Ally had given up on the 'no food or drink in the store' policy a while back. Her friends had never followed the rule, anyways.

It was Trish that, after a few minutes, brought up the topic that was on everyone's mind. "Okay," She said. "I can't be the only one who's totally creeped out by what just happened."

"But what did happen?" Ally asked, trying to put some sense to what she had seen. The contradiction of logic versus fact was giving her a headache.

"Well that's easy." Dez said, in that naïve way of his. "Emma made instruments fall from the sky."

Trish rolled her eyes and punched Dez in the arm. Usually, she would've argued with him, but none of them could come up with another explanation.

"Whatever she did," Ally said, feeling tense. "It was dangerous. Not just to her. If one of those instruments had hit us, we'd be seriously hurt right now."

"What are you saying?" Trish asked, a wary look in her eyes.

"I'm saying that maybe Emma has it wrong about this religious group. Maybe they just want to save people from what she can do. I mean, she must be wanted for a reason!" Ally answered, her voice growing louder with every passing second.

"How can she be dangerous?" Trish said, growing defensive. She'd taken quickly to the girl. "She's been locked in a basement for most of her life. She's never had a chance to even try and control what she can do. Hunting her is wrong!"

"Look," Ally said, lowering her voice in an effort to calm her friend down. "I know she's had a hard life, and I feel bad for her, but maybe we should be thinking about why he was keeping her there in the first place."

"She was his prize."

Everyone turned to the new voice, and Ally paled at the sight of Austin's face. His brown eyes that were usually so warm and welcoming had turned hard and cold. His lips were turned down in a frown and he gripped hard to the railing in anger. It was an imposing sight, and Ally was already regretting her words.

"He treated her like a possession." Austin continued, walking down the stairs. "She was there for his own entertainment. He used her as a verbal punching bag and kept her locked up like an animal." Talking about it seemed to calm him down, but his face was still hard when he reached the group. "Ally, I don't think you do understand what she went through. If you did, then we wouldn't be having this conversation."

All felt as though she might cry. It was extremely rare for Austin to become upset with her, and the fact that it was all over Emma made a bad situation that much worse. She lowered her head to blink back tears, hoping her friends hadn't seen the wetness in her eyes. "I just don't want her to drag you into something dangerous." She said quietly.

Austin sighed and took a step forward, placing his hands on Ally's shoulders, which made her look him in the eyes. The coldness there was fading fast. "I know Ally," He said gently. "But her business is my business now. She has a right to drag me into her messes."

"But why?" Ally asked. She could hear the desperation in her voice, but she didn't care. She had to know why the albino girl was so important to him.

A flash of pain crossed Austin's face, and he looked down, no doubt to try and mask it. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and stuffed them in his pockets, something he did when he was uncomfortable. Ally was sure he was going to dodge the question, like he had been for over a month. But then a voice from the top of the stairs grabbed everyone's attention.

"Tell them."

Everyone looked up at Emma, but her eyes were trained firmly on Austin. She seemed perfectly in control again, as if her earlier breakdown had never happened. "You should never have kept it from them in the first place. I've only been here two days, and keeping it to ourselves has caused nothing but problems."

A look of shame crossed Austin's face, as well as a bit of confusion. "What sort of problems?" He asked.

Emma just rolled her eyes at him and muttered "You are so blind." Louder, she added. "Don't you at least owe it to Ally? She's your closest friend, and you shouldn't be lying to her."

Austin sighed in defeat. "You're right." He said. Ally felt a raising sense of eagerness. This was it. She was finally going to find out what was going on between those two, what it was that made them so close.

And yet, at the same time, she was entirely sure she wanted to know.

Regardless, Austin steamed on, barely pausing for breath. "When I was young," He started. "I had a younger sister called Amelia Moon. She was frail and small, and she never went outside. My parents never let her near anyone- I always assumed that they were scared she was going to get sick. Then one day, when she was almost four and I was six, that's exactly what happened. My mom said it was meningitis. She never stood a chance." There was a bitter edge to his voice that Ally wasn't used to.

"I'm sorry," She said, not really knowing what else to say, or how this story connected to Emma.

"Yeah," Austin continued. "That's exactly what I thought had happened for years. And then, I found out that it had all been a lie."

There was a collective gasp amongst the group of friends, and they all nodded for him to continue.

"What really happened is that my parents gave her up. They were horrified by her, scared that she was some sort of freak. So they gave her away- illegally- and faked her death so people wouldn't ask questions."

"So what happened to her?" Trish asked. Ally was starting to get a sick feeling in her gut. She had a feeling she knew where this story was going.

Austin gave Trish a small smile. "Nothing." He said. "Not for a very long time, anyways. She grew up alone, watching everyone around her die, until I came along and helped her break free."

"You mean…" Trish's voice trailed off as she put the pieces of the puzzle together in her head.

Ally answered Trish's question, all the while gazing firmly at Austin. "Emma is Amelia." Ally said. "She's your little sister."

Austin nodded. The girl in question came bounding down the rest of the stairs, and stood next to Austin. She looked back and forth between the three friends expectantly.

There was a few moments of silence, then Trish said "I can see it."

Ally let out a burst of laughter, not just from the anti-climactic comment, but also because she felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest. So, they were brother and sister. That explained everything, from the expression Austin got when he was reading her diary to the easy way they interacted. Ally didn't have to think about any possible romance between those two after all. Austin was absolutely free.

Not that that would matter to Ally, of course… but still.

"You really do look alike, actually." Ally said with a smile. Austin seemed surprised, though pleased, at her sudden change of moods. "Now that I'm looking for it, it's actually obvious."

Emma looked up at Austin with a skeptical expression. "I'm small, albino and female. How exactly are we alike?"

"It's not those things." Ally assured her. "It's actually in your facial features, and the shape of your eyes. It's practically identical."

Emma smiled at Ally, a few traces of relief on the girl's face. It occurred to Ally that she may have let her feelings get in the way of being all that welcoming of the girl. She'd have to fix that later. Of course, she was still worried about Emma's abilities, but she realised that she may have overreacted. Trish was right. Emma needed a chance to learn to control it. She still had a bunch of questions for the albino, but handing her over to a group of fanatics who wanted to kill/use her would do no good. Ally would give Emma a chance to answer the questions she had. But maybe not today. There'd been a lot of questions and answers brought up this morning. Any more, and Ally's brain might explode.

Emma turned back to Austin and tugged on his shirt eagerly. "Come on." She said. "Let's go to the practice room. I wanna make music."


	11. Songwriting Blues

**All right, here it is, finally. I think this is chapter ten. It's significantly longer than what I usually do for chapters, but it was either one big chapter or two small ones, so I opted for the big one. **

**This chapter has two songs in it. First, I'd like to say that I do not own either of the songs. The two songs are Brave song (from the show Angel Beats!) and Distance by Christina Perri. If you listen to the songs when they come up in the story, which I recommend, You'll notice that the Angel Beats song (Which you can find by searching Angel Beats ending on youtube) is not in English. I really hope none of you understand it, because that's kind of important. You can find it in English, but I'd recommend waiting until it comes up in the story. Which it will. **

**Anyways, hope you like it. Peace out til next time! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story that belongs to other people**

_Itsumo hitori de aruiteta furikaeru to minna wa tooku_

_Sore de mo atashi wa aruita sore ga tsuyosa datta_

_Mou nani mo kowakunai sou tsubuyaite miseru_

_Itsuka hito wa hitori ni natte omoide no naka ni ikiteku dake_

_Kodoku sae aishi waratterareru you ni atashi wa tatakaun da_

_Namida nante misenain da_

Ally was lying down on the couch, writing frivolously in her notebook while listening to Emma play her song on the piano. She had glanced over briefly in surprise when she realised it wasn't in English (how on earth did she learn a different language?) but she let it slide. She had work to do, after all, something she'd almost forgotten about during the chaos of the past few days.

Austin had been listening while Emma played the song. As she reached the last note, he shook his head in confusion (and maybe exasperation). "What in the world was that supposed the mean?" He asked.

Emma gave him a mischievous grin. "Maybe someday I'll sing it in English." She told him, giving the whole thing an air of mystery. Just another way the two siblings were alike, in Ally's opinion.

Now that she knew the truth about Emma, she couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed it earlier. Those two went beyond 'alike'. It was more like they had a telepathic link. They could communicate with a glance, and never need to exchange a word. Not so long ago, that connection had bothered Ally. Now she just found it amusing. It was nice to see long lost siblings connect so easily.

"Maybe we should be focusing on Austin's new song, instead of Emma's foreign one." Trish said, giving Ally a slightly irritated look. Ally put her hands up defensively.

"Hey! I've done the best I can. I just don't know what to do for this song." Ally said. She sighed, and glanced over at the other two musicians. "I don't suppose you two have any ideas?" Ally asked.

The two pondered this for a moment. Then, Emma said to Austin "Well, you could always sing the song I made for you…"

"No!" Austin responded, his eyes wide. "I'm not ready yet." Emma rolled her eyes at him, but didn't make any protests.

"Well, then, I got nothing." Emma stated, sitting on the edge of the couch next to Ally. Austin and Ally both raised their eyebrows at her.

"You've got whole journal full of songs." Austin pointed out to her, as if she might have forgotten. Emma sighed in exasperation.

"We've been over this." She said. "None of my songs are your style. Except the one I wrote for you. My songs are slow and sad and made for girls."

"Love songs?" Ally asked, perking up. She adored anything that had to do with love. If she could get Emma to let her burrow some ideas, she might be able to write Austin's new song.

Emma shook her head. "All my songs are based on my own life and experiences." She explained. "There isn't really a whole lot of love to sing about."

Frustrated, Ally threw herself back against the couch, groaning. She was starting to seriously doubt whether she'd get the song done in time. To make matters worse, Trish decided that that was her cue to leave, and she grabbed Dez by the arm, dragging him out of the room with her. Ally couldn't help but smile slightly as she watched the two leave, despite being annoyed with them. She honestly couldn't tell if those two liked each other or hated each other. It could go either way.

Austin walked over to the two girls on the couch and leaned over the back. "I know you'll come up with something." Austin said to Ally. "You always do." Austin's faith in her was heartwarming, as always, but it didn't comfort her as much as it could have in any other situation.

Emma had her eyebrows scrunched up in thought as she gazed forward at nothing in particular. Ally hoped she was trying to come up with song ideas, because she'd basically run out. Finally, the girl shook herself back to reality and turned to the other two. "How about we listen to some of your old songs?" Emma suggested. "Maybe we'll get some ideas from that."

Neither Austin nor Ally could come up with a better idea, so that's exactly what they did. Austin put in their album and let it play for the full half hour, all of them listening intently, hoping to have some insight on a new song idea.

As was their luck, no new idea came to them. Actually, they zoned out to the point where Austin fell asleep, sprawled on the couch that had already been abandoned by the girls. It was his snores that told them he was asleep. Emma looked up at the sounds and stared at her brother, astonished. Ally just shook her head with a smile. Austin could sleep through a hurricane. Maybe it was a guy thing.

The soundtrack came to an end and silence filled the room, but neither Ally nor Emma bothered to break the silence. Both were so absorbed by their own thoughts that neither had really processed the absence of sound, anyways.

It was when Austin started making sounds that Ally tuned in enough to realise the album had reached its end. She shook her head to try and clear it and stood up to take the cd out of the player, but she froze when she realised what exactly had brought her back to reality.

Austin was dreaming.

Ally knew the signs: the fluttering eyelids, some tossing and turning. If that hadn't been present, the fact that he was actually muttering some things would have tipped her off. It gave Ally a bit of a shock to discover that Austin talked in his sleep. She'd never really been in a situation to find out before.

"He does that when he's stressed." Emma said, also noticing what he was doing. She shimmied toward the couch from her spot on the floor, and came to rest next to Ally. "It happened a lot when we first met." Ally glanced sideways at Emma for a second, and turned her attention back to Austin. It made her uncomfortable to think about how much better Emma knew him then she did. They'd known each other when they were toddlers and had only come together again in the last month. It made Ally feel like she'd never paid much attention to Austin. If a girl who'd only known her Austin a little while understood him better than Ally, how good of a friend was she really? Then again, they were related. They were supposed to understand each other, right?

"Ally"

All thought vanished from Ally's mind as she zeroed in on Austin's sleeping form. She'd heard her name. She was sure of it.

As if to confirm it, he muttered her name again, and sighed, turning onto his side, a small smile lighting up his face. He slept on.

Ally could feel her heart crashing in her chest as she took in what was happening. Austin Moon was dreaming about her. He was dreaming good dreams, too, based on the smile that still lit up his face. It was incredible, impossible, and absolutely amazing. Ally could feel her own face split into a smile.

Afterwards, Ally would never be able to fully describe what happened. For a second, she felt absolutely weightless, as if she were floating in space. Then, there was the sensation of falling, or more like a cord pulling her down to earth viscously fast. It was terrifying. It was amazing. She felt as though everything that had kept her down to earth- her studies, her career, her parents- was suddenly snipped away, like scissors cutting string. They were all being replaced by something else, a new, stronger cord, a new reason to live. And that reason was lying fast asleep in front of her.

Ally stumbled to the ground, suddenly feeling short of breath. Moving slowly, as if the slightest movement might wake him up, Ally reached over and picked up her book from the arm of the couch. An idea was coming to her. It wasn't Austin's usual style, but… well, you should never stop an idea in progress.

Ally scribbled her thoughts down, and then looked back up at the sleeping boy. Quietly, she sang what she had in mind.

_The sun is filling up the room_

_And I can hear you dreaming_

_Do you feel the way I do?_

_Right now?_

_I wish we would just give up_

_Cause the best part is falling_

_Call it anything but love_

Ally paused, not quite sure where to go next with the song. Then another light voice filled the room, and the albino girl came up with a chorus.

_And I will_

_Make sure_

_To keep my distance_

_Say I love you_

_When you're not listening_

_And how long_

_Can we keep this up, up, up?_

Ally smiled at the albino, and motioned for her to come join her. Emma got up tentatively, and walked over to Ally. She handed the albino her notebook and pencil. It was unheard of for Ally to let anyone touch her book, under any circumstance, but Ally felt she could trust Emma for a few moments to help her work on the song. She wrote quietly for a moment, and then handed the book back to Ally. She read;

_Please don't stand so close to me_

_I'm having trouble breathing_

_I'm afraid of what you'll see_

_Right now_

It was good, Ally could give her that. She frowned for a moment, staring at the song in progress, then added;

_I give you everything I am_

_All my broken heart beats_

_Until I know you'll understand_

_And I will _

_Make sure _

_To keep my distance_

_Say I love you _

_When you're not listening_

_And how long_

_Can we keep this up, up, up?_

Emma didn't even bother to write her next thoughts in the book, and simply sang out loud.

_And I keep waiting_

_For you to take me_

_You keep waiting_

_To save what we had_

Ally didn't even pause to add the chorus onto the end of Emma's verse.

_So I'll _

_Make sure _

_To keep my distance_

_Say I love you _

_When you're not listening_

_How long _

_Can we keep this up, up, up?_

Emma took the honour of finishing the song.

_Make sure _

_To keep my distance_

_Say I love you_

_When you're not listening_

_And how long_

_Til we call this love, love, love?_

Ally smiled at Emma, and she smiled back. They did good together, Ally realised. Maybe she'd be able to co-write some of Austin's songs in the future. Then again, the song they just made wasn't exactly an Austin song. It was hers- something that came from her own heart. She'd have to figure out what it all meant later.

"Nice song."

Ally's songbook went flying out of her hands as she jumped out of shock. Austin was sitting up on the couch, looking at her with a small smile. Oh, god, how long had he been awake? Did he know that the song was about him? Did he hear enough to even know what the song was about? She desperately hoped not. She couldn't handle that complication right now.

"We co-wrote it!" Emma exclaimed, scouting closer to her with a grin. Ally narrowed her eyes at the albino, slightly suspicious. Did she know who the song was about? She must, her parts were well personalised to her brother. The real question was whether or not she was going to say anything.

"Awesome." Austin said, completely unaware of Ally's inner turmoil. "But it's not really my kind of song."

Ally shook herself out of her reverie, focusing on the problem still at hand. "No, it's not." Ally agreed. "Which means we still have to write a song for you. And we have-" Ally glanced at the clock "Three hours to do it." As if that were even possible.

"Maybe," Emma said, her eyes narrowing. "Or maybe not."

Both Austin and Ally recognised the signs of an idea. "What do you have in mind?" Austin asked.

Emma reached out and grabbed Ally's songbook, still open to the page of the new song. Austin raised his eyebrows in confusion when Ally didn't protest, but he didn't interrupt. "We have a new song." She said. "But it's not one that Austin would perform. So he won't. Ally can perform it instead."

Oh dear God. "Absolutely not!" Ally protested, her eyes wide. "I can't perform in front of anyone. I have serious stage fright. There's no way I could perform this song in front of an audience like that."

"But you've gotten so better with your stage fright." Austin insisted. Ally glared at him for siding with Emma, but he didn't budge. "You could do this. I know you can."

"You wouldn't have to do it alone." Emma added. "We could turn it into a duet, so you and Austin could do it together. You performed with Austin before, right?"

"Once." Ally admitted. "But no one knew it was me."

Austin slid down onto the floor next to her, and reached out to put his hand on top of hers. As soon as their skin made contact, Ally's heart started to flutter like a bird's, making it very difficult to concentrate. "You're ready for this Ally." Austin said, using his most earnest voice. "I have total faith in you. And you know we don't have time to write another song."

Ally hated it when he was right. She hated it even more when he was so sweet about it. And with Austin's holding her hand making her unable to think properly, she couldn't as much as whimper in protest. Ally supposed it wouldn't be so bad if she had to perform it with Austin, in any case.

Perform with Austin. Her song. About how she feels about Austin.

Ally groaned, and shot a death glare at the albino who had suggested the idea, who was now grinning diabolically at the two. So she wasn't going to tell Austin about the song. She was going to get them to sing it together to see if he'd catch on. Clever. Ally could only hope that Austin's naivety would spare her this one conversation.

"All right." Ally said. "I'll do it."

Austin couldn't believe that they'd gotten Ally to agree to perform on stage with him. The last time she'd performed in front of a crowd, she'd been wearing a mask and had taken on the identity of Taylor Swift, who had been supposed to perform with him. Austin had been shocked, but delighted to have had the opportunity to perform with Ally, but he'd honestly believed that it wouldn't happen again, or if it did, it would be a long time from now.

Austin figured he had Emma to thank for suggesting the idea. But he couldn't help but wonder if she had some sort of personal agenda, especially after he had read the lyrics to the song.

Austin understood Emma well, and she understood him. But those song lyrics made him seriously wonder if she was telepathic or something. They described his situation with Ally so perfectly, it's a wonder that Ally didn't catch on, especially since they co-wrote it. Didn't she realise who Emma had had in mind when she wrote those lyrics? No, she mustn't have. Austin would've been able to tell if she had. But it was a gamble as to whether or not she would realise it while they were performing. Maybe that had been Emma's plan all along, and that was the true reason she'd suggested Ally perform it.

They didn't spend too long practicing, especially since they didn't have much time left. Ally seemed to grow more and more nervous the closer it got to show time, and Austin kept up a steady stream of reassuring words to try and calm her down. He couldn't tell if it worked or not.

Trish and Dez came for them at about six-thirty, having returned from god knows where, and dragged all three of them out of the building. Thankfully, it was nearing winter, so the sun had already gone down for the most part and wasn't around to bother his little sister. He felt bad for her sometimes, that she couldn't go out in the sun. He couldn't imagine a life without sunlight. He supposed he'd have to adjust, though, now that he had his sister back. He couldn't very well leave her alone all the time.

They got the concert area at the appointed time of seven. Austin suddenly found that he had two girls clinging to him, his sister on to arm and Ally to the other hand. Both seemed incredibly unnerved by the crowd, though most likely for very different reasons. Austin didn't complain. In his opinion, no guy should complain about having two beautiful girls holding onto them for dear life.

Of course, when it came time to perform, he had to pry Emma off of him, since she wasn't going on stage with them. She was reluctant to let go, and as soon as she did, she turned around and clung to Dez, who was surprised, but didn't protest. Austin grinned at her, waved at his friends, and then proceeded to pulling a slightly reluctant Ally on stage.

The crowd went wild as soon as they realised that Austin would be performing with his songwriter, something they'd been looking forward to for a long time. Ally's eyes went wide as she took in the audience, but she didn't back down. Austin was proud of her. He squeezed her hand briefly and said "You're going to be amazing." She smiled weakly back at him.

Austin took the mic and shouted out to the crowd. "Hey guys! This song is going to be sung by me and my songwriter, Ally Dawson. It's called Distance, and I hope you like it!" The crowd yelled back in response, and Austin grinned. It was show time.

Ally sat at the piano, and started playing with shaking hands. Regardless, the tune was steady, as was her voice as she started to sing. The crowd was completely quiet, enchanted by the love song, and perhaps even more so when Austin joined in with his guitar and background singing. Emma had said they could perform as a duet, but the song really centered on Ally. And she performed it beautifully, without a hitch, despite her cheeks growing redder and redder as she performed, making her as red as a tomato by the time they finished the song.

The crowd's cheer was louder than anything Austin had ever known before, which was impressive, considering the number of concerts he'd performed at. Austin was pretty sure Ally didn't hear any of it. She simply turned to him with a huge smile and hugged him like never before. Austin hugged her back tightly, for as long as he'd let himself before breaking apart.

They were eventually kicked off the stage to let the other performers get on with the show, and Austin and Ally gladly drifted toward their friends. Emma jumped from Dez to Ally as soon as she was near enough, which made him laugh almost as much as it worried him. What had her so wound up?

"You were amazing!" Trish exclaimed, giving Ally a big hug. "I can't believe you had the guts to pull that off."

"Me neither." Ally said, pulling away from her best friend.

"How did you come up with that song?" Trish asked. Austin and Ally both tensed, but she didn't seem to notice. "Who's it supposed to be about?"

"Oh… Well…" Ally started, struggling for words. "Some of it just came to me. Emma wrote most of it, anyways." Ally nudged the albino, clearly asking for support. Emma just groaned and slapped her hand to her forehead in exasperation. Austin chuckled nervously at his sister's show of frustration. She'd already made her view on Austin and Ally's relationship clear.

"Well, we should get going." Trish said, letting the topic drop. "We've got some celebrating to do." Austin agreed, relieved to be off that particular topic.

The gang made their way out of the building, into the now empty parking lot. Well, empty of people, anyways. It was packed with cars. Night had officially fallen, too, so trying to get to Ally's car was like going through a maze.

Emma shifted back to clinging to Austin, which just confused him. He'd thought the crowd was what had been making her nervous, but there wasn't a crowd out here. In fact, the further they got from the crowd, the more nervous she seemed to get.

Eventually, Austin stopped the group, and turned to his sister, worried. "What's wrong?" He asked her.

Emma glanced around at the shadows nervously. She had a slightly distracted look on her face, a bit like earlier at the sonic boom. Austin's anxiety increased at the thought of trying to deal with another episode of hers. "Something's wrong." She whispered quietly. "No one's talking. Not a whisper. They hold their breath like people do in suspenseful moments in horror films…" She drifted off, and gave a quick shake of her head, probably realising that she was starting to get incoherent. "Can we just get to the car?"

Austin nodded, and just started to move toward the car, when a scream pierced the silence of the night.


	12. Attacked

**Here it is! I finally got this updated. Hope you like it. **

**Well, I really don't have much else to say right now, so… enjoy the story. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally (sigh)**

Austin whirled around with a speed born out of adrenaline, his heart leaping into his throat with fear. That scream had been close, and the voice much, much too familiar. His worst fear was realised when he processed the scene before him, and froze.

It was the guy that Ally had described, the one who'd been following her around. Now, in the light of street lamps, some of his features were distinguishable. He had scraggy hair that fell to his shoulders, and a fedora to compliment the style. He had wrinkles, or scars, covering what part of his face Austin could see. He was wearing a black trench coat that fell to his feet. And he had a knife pressed up against Ally's throat.

No one seemed to know what to do. Trish and Dez had both jumped back when Ally screamed, and they now both stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at their friend, who was now frozen in terror. Austin's heart beat faster with every passing second that nothing happened, his fear for Ally's safety outweighing everything else in his mind. He didn't even fully process when Emma let go of his arm.

The man, however, latched his gaze immediately on Emma as she tried to move. Emma locked eyes with his, and they both seemed to size each other up. He, however, held Ally hostage by knifepoint, and Emma realised quickly she had no way of taking him on without getting Ally hurt. She came to a standstill.

"You." A hoarse voice murmured from under that fedora, his gaze still locked on Emma. "You're coming with me."

For a moment, Emma seemed just as confused as the rest of them about the request. Then realisation lit up her eyes, quickly followed by fear… Then anger.

Oh no.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Emma whispered, her voice shaking. Her hands had clenched into fists.

"No?" The man said. His voice was cold, mocking. "Then I guess I'll just slit your friend's throat and knock you out. Either way works for me. It's up to you whether or not you want to be responsible for another death."

Emma's face turned hard as ice, and Austin felt a new wave of fear shoot up his spine. Only this time, it wasn't the cloaked figure that scared him. He remembered clearly the last time someone had made his sister this upset- and that guy hadn't lived to regret it.

"Em" Austin said quietly, hoping to calm her down a bit. She didn't even hear him.

"Let. Her. Go." Emma said, her voice suddenly devoid of anything other than pure outrage.

The man was either stupid, or sadly misinformed about the girl he was talking to, because his sadistic smile simply got wider. He clearly didn't consider Emma a threat.

"Em-" Austin tried again, but she didn't so much as let him finish the thought.

"Let her go!" Emma screeched, and lunged forward.

If Austin hadn't been watching her directly, he would've missed the movement. As it was, the guy barely had enough time to register shock before the little albino tackled him to the ground. Ally, now free, ran straight for Austin and wrapped her arms around him. He held her back tightly, beyond relieved that she was all right, while watching the scene before him unfold with a continued stream of fear.

It was sheer luck that the guy didn't die from the impact to the ground. The guy, now unarmed, managed to toss the albino off of him with what little force he could muster, and staggered to his feet. Emma recovered instantly from being thrown off of her prey, and whirled around with a speed and grace that should not be humanly possible. She lunged again.

This time, the guy was semi-prepared for her. He took up a position of self defense and blocked her first punch. Emma retaliated with a knee in his side, which forced him to let her fist go and double over in pain. Emma took the opportunity and brought her knee up to his forehead. The guy flew backward and stumbled to the ground in a heap. He made an effort to get up, but it was as if some unseen force kept him pinned to the ground, unable to move. He spun onto his back and lay pinned with invisible chains, struggling against nothing. Emma stood stock still, staring at him with a fathomless expression, her fists clenched tight. Austin had a feeling he knew what invisible chains held this man captive.

Trish was the first to break the silence that followed. "What… How… Who?..." She murmured as she struggled to form a coherent thought.

Dez seemed the first to fully recover, no doubt never having fully processed the danger. "Well, maybe we should ask him." He suggested, pointed at the struggling man on the ground.

Trish frowned at the guy on the ground, her brows knitting together in confusion. "Is he having a seizure or something?" She asked. Clearly, none of the others had noticed Emma's loss of control the way he had- or maybe they didn't think that Emma could pin a man to the ground with the force of her mind. Either way, Austin was suddenly aware that he was the only one who was fully aware of the situation.

Ally was the one who answered Trish. "No…" She said, watching the man on the ground with some leftover traces of fear. "It looks like something has him pinned."

"Some sort of head injury?" Trish suggested, obliviously ignoring Emma's position. Ally didn't answer, and instead shifted her gaze to the albino, her eyes wary. Austin felt her stiffen under his arm in response to what she saw.

Reluctantly, Austin let go of Ally, and walked hesitantly over to his sister. He knew she saw him coming, but she didn't shift an inch from her position. He asked "Can you keep your hold on him if we moved him?"

Emma considered this for a moment. "Yes" She decided. "I have control."

Ally didn't look very surprised, no doubt having already reached that conclusion. Trish, on the other hand, was shocked.

"You mean she's the one keeping him pinned?" Trish asked, her voice a bit too loud in her panic.

Dez had a completely different approach to the situation. He grinned widely and murmured "Cool", no doubt contemplating the many things he could do with that sort of telekinesis. Austin didn't ask. Everyone was better off not knowing what went on in Dez' head.

"Emma can do a lot of things." Austin said to Trish, hoping to get her to drop the topic. She did, shrugging it off as simply another one of his sister's quirks. Austin continued, addressing the rest of his group. "We need to take him somewhere we can ask him questions without any danger. Any ideas?"

Ally blanched at the idea. "But isn't that abduction?" she stated. "We could get arrested if someone found out!" Trish nodded furtively in agreement.

Austin already hated the idea, and it wasn't helping that his friends hated it too. Austin tried to explain his reasoning. "He's here after Emma, and he almost hurt Ally. I don't think we really have a choice."

"It's against the law!" Trish said, as if restating the point would make it stronger. Austin felt the stirrings of anxiety in his chest, but he didn't waver.

"It doesn't matter." Everyone turned to Emma, who had spoken. She still had her gaze locked on the man, and her posture hadn't changed by a millimeter, but her attention was clearly absorbed by the conversation. "Someone once told me there was a war going on, a battle hidden beneath mainstream society. A fight for control between the churches. I'm part of it, and now you are too by association." She pointed to the man on the ground. "He's part of it, too. The law doesn't enter into this. You think it was legal for my mom and dad to just hand me over to a psycho? You think it was legal for him to hold me hostage in a basement for ten years? Of course it wasn't. But it doesn't matter because it's all part of the war." Emma finally shifted her gaze back to the group. Her eyes were hard as ice, and the red seemed to be almost… swirling. "Haven't you ever wondered why it's okay for thousands of people to be killed at war, but in a normal society, a single murder can earn you a lifetime in jail? The rules change. The police will never find out, anyways. HE won't want them involved." She referred to the man on the ground. "We're taking him in."

After a speech like that, neither of the girls could really argue their point, but there was still another issue at hand that Ally decided to bring up.

"But where do we put him?" She asked. "It's not like we can lock him in one of our basements and tie him to a chair." Austin winced, and Ally covered her mouth, realising what she'd just said. "Sorry." She muttered.

"Lock him in a basement…" Emma said, more to herself then the others. "Very tempting, but no. We have to think of something else."

The others thought about this for a moment, trying to figure out where they could keep the guy without drawing attention to themselves. Well, everyone except Dez, who had long since lost interest in the tense situation and had moved on to cutting designs out of paper with stuff he'd pulled out of his bag.

After about a minute, Trish shrugged and leaned against the nearest car, stating "Well, I've got nothing. I live in a town house, after all. People would notice him there."

"True." Austin admitted. "My place is no good either. We don't even have a basement, even if I did want to put him there. And there are always fans keeping watch on my neighborhood. They'd notice anything suspicious in an instant." There were definite downsides of having devoted fans.

Ally took a couple seconds to answer, her shoulders tensed up from anxiety. She seemed reluctant to say anything, but she finally told them "My place has a kind of farm out back. No one would notice him there. But…" She paused, struggling to put words to whatever had her feeling uncomfortable. "I don't think I'd be able to sleep with him there."

Austin was awash with sympathy for her. The knife to her throat was no doubt as fresh in her mind as it was in his. To be honest, Austin hated the idea of having this guy stay anywhere near her. The part of him that revolved around Ally, which was most of him, screamed to have this guy shipped to China or something. But the logical part of his brain knew that keeping this guy in that barn was really their only option. It was either that, or let him go, anyways, and there was no way Austin would do that.

Austin reached out to her and put his arm around her, pulling her to him. She leaned into him, resting her head on his chest, which sent his heart racing. He tried desperately to focus on what he'd been about to say. "He won't be able to hurt you." He reassured her. "We'll have him tied up or something. And plus, Em's staying with you, and she's the one who can fight him. You'll be safe with her." Austin tried to push back his worry for his sister for a moment. Barring her deteriorating sanity and her lack of control on her strange powers, she really was the best suited to keep this guy in line.

"I'm a light sleeper." Emma offered. "He won't be able to so much as twitch without me noticing."

It was clearly an exaggeration, but it seemed to be what Ally needed to hear. Drawing a shaking breath, she nodded her consent.

"All right then." Trish said, jumping up off the car she'd been sitting on. Dez noticed the sudden activity, and stuffed his project in his bag, jumping up after Trish. "Let's go."

Moving him was surprisingly easier than they thought it would be. Austin figured that Emma's powers must work something like invisible ropes, or at least they could if she wanted them to. His arms stayed glued to his side, and his legs could only move him in the direction Emma wanted him to go. Not even his torso was in his power anymore- Emma could get him to duck into the car, sit upright and double over from invisible pain (don't ask).

They got to Ally's house in record time. Thankfully, her dad was out again for the weekend, so they didn't have to deal with that. Emma led the guy out of the car and to the place Ally had mentioned. It actually didn't resemble a barn much. With a crumbling roof, grey wood and a shattered window at the back, it looked more like a rundown shack from a horror movie. Just being near the place gave him chills.

Ally found a chair in her attic that wouldn't be missed and brought it out back to the shack. She set it on the ground and Emma sunk the chair's legs into the ground (nearly giving everyone a heart attack in the process) so it wouldn't budge. They found ropes to tie him with, and secured him to the chair. The guy didn't make a sound, simply glaring at the group while they worked.

As soon as they were done, Austin pulled Emma and Ally aside to set down a few rules. Mainly, they were directed at Emma. "This guy may be our prisoner, but we're not trying to kill him." Austin said. "He needs to eat and drink and go to the bathroom like everyone else. We're going to give him those things. We're not going to torture him in any way, either. If we're going to get him to talk, we'll find some other way."

"Of course," Ally said, speaking as though the very thought of treating him that way was appalling. Emma seemed a bit more reluctant to agree, but she gave a firm nod of her head, showing Austin that she understood.

"All right then." Austin said. "Let's get this over with."


	13. Plans and Strategies

**I know, I know. It's been a while. To make up for it, the next chapter will be up before the end of the night. I'm already nearly done with it. I didn't really want to post this chapter without the next one, anyways. Okay, well, I hope you enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I think we all know by now that I don't own this awesome show or its characters. **

Getting him to talk was proving to be a lot harder than they thought it would be.

The entire group had stayed in the barn that night until the early morning hours, trying to coerce any sort of information out of him. The fact that none of them would lay a finger on him to make him talk definitely didn't help, especially since he had quickly realised this fact. The group had gone their separate ways, discouraged, only to come back the next day and try again.

This pattern continued on for the next week. Each night, the group would gather at Ally's place, and go out back for a few hours and try to trick the guy into talking. They'd only gotten one word out of him in the course of seven days- his name, which he claimed to be Raphael.

Throughout the week, Emma quickly developed a day pattern she was learning to like. Each morning, she would get up and make new discoveries about TV, which she declared was the eighth wonder of the world. Ally turned out to be a creative cook, and she was always finding new ways to cook pancakes for her breakfasts.

It was amazing how quickly Ally warmed up to her once she'd discovered that Austin was really her brother, not her love interest. It turned out the two girls had a lot in common, such as overactive imaginations, a strong desire to learn, and a love of music, though the last one was to be expected. Even with School and homework, Ally was working out a way to fit in time to tutor Emma on things she hadn't discovered yet- like calculus. Ally was clearly ecstatic to have a calculus buddy.

While the others went to school for the day, Emma worked in time to try and experiment with her powers. It seemed as though her encounter with Raphael had set off whatever abilities she had. She'd gotten herself a new diary and had taken to taking notes on everything she found out. The little book was filling up quickly.

For instance, Emma found out that her powers were extremely centered on telekinesis. With focus, she could make almost anything happen, from turning the TV on and off to causing her bed to collapse in on itself (thankfully she managed to straighten that up before Ally got home). But her abilities weren't limited to that. She'd also discovered that she seemed to have a very basic form of telepathic communication with animals.

This discovery had happened on a Tuesday. Emma had gone outside into the backyard to take in some air while the sun was hiding behind dark clouds. She'd wandered into the woods a fair ways, though always staying within a mile radius of the cabin, keeping alert of anything suspicious from the guy tied up inside. It was then she'd come across a coyote.

Emma had no idea that coyotes could be found in Florida. Actually, she'd been pretty sure that they were native to other areas of the world, say, like southern Canada. She'd stood stock still, taking in the situation, trying to decide whether or not to bolt.

Then the strangest thing happened. It cocked his head at her and, Emma could swear, smiled at her. It turned around and trotted away, and Emma knew, without a doubt, that it was asking her to follow. So she did. It brought her to a sight she would never forget- a female coyote, lying injured on the ground, breathing heavily and clearly dying. Animals didn't have thoughts, exactly, but their emotions came through loud and clear, and Emma could feel the pain and sorrow of the two dogs. So she did the only thing she could do. She tended to the female coyote and got her back on her feet. It took a couple days, but the female coyote, who Emma had been calling Nell, recovered magnificently.

The dang dogs haven't left her alone ever since, trailing near the house and coming to her when she came out like a pack to their alpha.

She still hadn't discovered what the voices in her mind were about, and they scared the crap out of her every time they made an appearance. She did her best to ignore them.

Emma got away from the house almost every afternoon, when Ally would take her to the Sonic Boom. While Ally worked, Em and Austin would go up to the practice room for sibling time. She was teaching Austin the tune to her song. Now that she knew about Ally's feelings for Austin, there was no time to waste. Austin was a bit reluctant, but music won out, like it always would.

Trish and Dez usually came by not much later, and the five of them would hang out, including Emma as though they'd be doing so their whole lives. Emma was grateful for the easy acceptance, happy to finally be part of a proper family. Her only worry, really, was at which point her luck would reach 'too good to last'.

The week had finally come to an end, and Emma found herself with her brother in the practice room, playing the song while waiting for the others to come join them. Emma was lying on the couch, while Austin was sitting on the piano bench, tuning the guitar.

"Why are you being so insistent?" Austin asked. Emma flipped over on the couch and gave her brother a questioning glance. He elaborated "With the song, I mean. Why do you want me to sing it to Ally so badly?" His face went pink as he said it. He still hadn't quite gotten used to talking about his feelings for Ally with someone else.

Emma sighed, rolling her eyes as she moved herself into a more comfortable position. It was impressive, really, Emma thought, how both of them managed to be so blind to the other's feelings. Emma could see it. Trish could see it. She was pretty sure Dez could see it too. But no, not Austin and Ally. They can't imagine for a fleeting second that their feelings for each other might be mutual. It's ridiculous.

"I'm just tired of seeing you both in denial." Emma said truthfully. "Everyone will be happier once you two start dating."

Austin's already pink cheeks darkened to a crimson red. Emma had to bite her cheek to stop herself from laughing.

"What's going on in here?" Came a playful voice at the doorway.

Austin jumped, his face going, if possible, even darker as he turned to face the girl in question. Emma didn't even try to hold back her laughter this time, and burst into spontaneous giggles. Ally was standing in the doorway, looking back and forth between the siblings, a question mark written on her face.

"Nothing" Austin said, his voice several octaves higher than it should be. Ally clearly didn't buy that for a half a second, but she let it go.

"Anyways," Ally said, making her way into the room. "I think we need to talk about Raphael."

Austin's face returned to its normal shade, and he put down the guitar, giving Ally his full attention. "Shouldn't we wait for Trish and Dez?" Austin asked.

Ally shook her head. "They can't come today." Ally explained. "Trish is grounded again and Dez's parents want some family time while they're around."

"Oh yeah," Austin said. He must have forgotten that Dez was going to be ensnared by his parents for the weekend. "So what did you want to talk about?"

All took a seat on the arm of the couch, near Emma's head. "We've been at this for a week." She started. "The only thing we learnt about him was his name. He's not going to tell us anything else, either, so long as he knows we won't do anything to him."

Austin's face turned hard. "We aren't going to hurt him." He said.

"Of course we won't." Ally said, clarifying. "But what if we got him to think we would? I mean, we've tried everything else. He's already shown us that he won't be bribed or converted. And if we don't get him to talk soon, then we might as well let him go, because there won't be much of a point in keeping him tied up if he won't tell us anything."

"No point?" Austin argued. "If we let him go, he could go to the police. We could get in serious trouble."

Emma sat up, and gave her brother a pointed look. "I've already told you." She said. "The police aren't going to get involved, even if we let him go. What I'm worried about is what he'll tell his group if we release him."

Austin sighed and sat down in the armchair opposite the couch. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, this guy already knows we aren't a violent group." Emma explained, looking down at her hands with narrowed eyes. "He also knows that we haven't gotten anyone else involved. I don't think you realise exactly how vulnerable that makes us. They could send an army after us if they wanted to, and we wouldn't stand a chance. Our only advantage right now is that they don't know how powerful we are- or how powerful I am. We need to keep it that way." Emma looked up from her hands and met her brother's gaze. "But I do agree with Ally. We need him to talk."

Emma could see the war going on behind her brother's eyes. Austin knew she was right, that they needed some information out of this guy. He knew just as well as the girls did that they couldn't just keep him locked up forever without ever talking to him, or progressing in some way with this fight. But it went against his very nature to have the guy so much as think that Austin might hurt him, especially when he's defenseless. It was wrong, and Austin knew it. But what they were doing wasn't working, and they needed him to talk.

"All right," Austin said, sighing in defeat. "What do you want to do?"

Ally gave him a small smile, and rushed on with her plan. "We need to make him think we're dangerous." She said. "We'll walk in and pretend that we've decided we're going to use force. Then Emma will come in, and hopefully she'll be able to scare him into talking before actually hurting him."

Austin raised his eyebrows at her, and Emma gave an exasperated sigh. "That's a big IF you have going there." Emma said. Ally gave her a sheepish smile. Ally knew her plan wasn't likely to succeed, Emma thought. It was just the best she had. Emma thought about this for a few moments. If only there was a way of making him think they're really serious… some way to really scare him into talking…

An idea suddenly lit up in her mind, and Emma smiled widely at Austin and Ally, who were both staring at her in curiosity. Emma said "I can't scare him on my own. He already knows that Austin won't let me do anything. But if we brought in something that none of us can control… or something only I can control… now that would scare him."

The others seemed to be growing more and more confused as she explained. "What are you talking about?" Ally asked.

"I'll bring in Nell and Noda." Emma said. Yes, bring in the wild coyotes. That will definitely give him a shock.

"Who?" Austin asked. It suddenly occurred to Emma that she hadn't explained what happened with the dogs to the others. Ally didn't even know about the pack.

"My dogs." Emma explained briefly. "They'll be able to scare him."

"When did you get dogs?" Ally asked, sounding slightly horrified. No doubt she was picturing the trouble she'd be in if her dad got home and found dogs hanging out on the sofa.

"Actually, they're wild coyotes." Emma informed them. Ally looked like she might faint, so she clarified "But they're not in the house, they live in the woods. And they'll listen to me, don't worry."

"you've got wild coyotes at your command?" Ally asked, flabbergasted.

"Yes"

Austin couldn't quite wrap it around his head either. "Where'd you get wild coyotes?" He asked.

"Enough about the coyotes!" Emma snapped. "We were talking about interrogations, remember?"

"Right." Ally said, shaking herself out of her stupor. "Barring the fact that you having coyotes at your command is totally creepy, it might just be able to scare him into talking. I like it."

"I'm okay with that." Austin said, not sounding completely okay with that. But it was enough for Emma.

"It's settled then." She said. "Let's go get us some answers."


	14. Interrogation

**Here's the next chapter, as promised. Enjoy! **

**And I don't own Austin and Ally. **

**P.S. The music box tune in this chapter is Lilium from Elfen Lied. It's an awesome show and I totally recommend it, but it's definitely not for anyone with a sensitive stomach. Anime gore is still gore, in my books anyway. **

They went straight from the sonic boom to the cabin in Ally's backyard, eager to put their new interrogation strategy into practice. The ride was quiet and tense with anticipation, as each member of the vehicle pondered on what they might find out, and how it might change their lives.

Emma, personally, just wanted some answers about herself. She wanted to know where her powers came from, what the voices were, and maybe most importantly, how to get rid of them before they drove her insane.

When they got to Ally's house, Emma went out to the woods alone to get the coyotes. As she'd been expecting, they came out the foliage seconds after she appeared, sitting in front of her and awaiting some sort of order. In the past few days, this had bothered Emma. Now she was going to use it, and knowing that gave her a strange sort of satisfaction, a satisfaction that she could accept pack loyalty- at least for tonight.

Emma led the dogs to the cabin, trailing behind a little in order to give Austin and Ally enough time to open up the interrogation. She reached the door, and signalled for the dogs to be quiet while she listened to what was being said on the other side.

"We've run out of options." She could hear Ally say on the other side of the door. "We need him to talk. Austin, please." Her tone was slightly defeated, but determined. Emma smiled slightly to herself. She'd had no idea that Ally was such a good actress.

Austin's sigh was audible to Emma's sensitive ears. "Fine." He said, a tone of anguish to his voice. This didn't surprise Emma. She already knew that Austin was a good actor. "Go get Emma."

There was the sound of footsteps, then the door opened, and Ally was peering out at her. Her eyes widened slightly at the coyotes, and she tensed, but the rest of her act was flawless. She needed solemnly and motioned for Emma to come in, who in turn motioned for the coyotes to follow.

Raphael eyed her suspiciously as she walked in, the way he did every day. Only this time, she picked up an underlying tone of worry. Raphael, like the other religious nuts he worked for, believed the worst of her. Emma had a nagging suspicion that he was aware of what she could do, so it didn't surprise her that his face registered alarm when the coyotes came into view, taking an offensive position, teeth bared and all, against the man whom their alpha clearly disliked. It did, however, send a thrill up her spine. Perhaps her plan would work after all.

Emma used her coldest voice when she spoke to him. "You like my dogs?" she said, giving him a diabolical grin. "Their names are Nell and Noda. They've taken me in as their alpha- and they've been dying for a fight. Perhaps you care to provide one?"

His response was exactly what she'd been hoping for- and so much more. "God's blessing protects me, demon child."

A triumphant smile crossed Austin and Ally's faces, and though Emma shared the feeling, she kept her composure. He was talking now, but the real issue was getting him to continue. Emma sneered "So, you're talking now?"

He sneered back at her, and seemed ready to go back to his silent composure, so Emma piped up "No, don't stop now. The more you talk, the less likely it is that my coyotes will do something to you that you won't like."

He practically growled. He'd been cornered now, and he knew it. As long as he believed that Emma would actually set the dogs on him, he would also believe he had no choice but to talk. "And what would you have me say?"

Emma grinned at him again. Austin and Ally stayed silent, letting Emma take control of the interrogation, knowing that she was the one he was scared of, not them. "Why are you hunting me?" she asked, figuring it was a pretty good place to start.

He scoffed. Clearly, he'd been expecting something more. "You are a demon child. You cannot be allowed to roam the earth. You must be controlled or destroyed."

"But why?" Emma asked, a slight tone of desperation touching her words. "What makes me a demon child? Why do you think I'm so dangerous?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You control animals and make objects move with your mind." He pointed out. "You can pin a man to the ground with a single thought and steal secrets out of the minds of humans. You move as fast as the wind and can throw with the strength of a thousand warriors. You can commune with the dead." He shook his head in exasperation. "Do you truly believe that these powers belong to you?"

Emma reeled. She'd figured that he knew about her powers, but thinking something and hearing it out loud were two very different things. "Wait," She said. "Back up. What do you mean, commune with the dead? And how could these powers not belong to me?"

"Surely you've heard the whispers of the dead." He said. "You are connected uniquely to purgatory and hell. The dead will always seek you out, trying to convey some sort of message to their living relations, or seeking a way out of their pitiful existence."

Emma wasn't sure what bothered her more; thinking that the voices were a product of her loss of sanity, or knowing that they were really the voices of dead people trying to use her in some way. Neither option seemed to have much of a bright side. Then again, it wasn't the biggest problem at hand, so she shook the sobering thoughts away, and asked "And about my powers not belonging to me? What did you mean?"

His sneer returned, and he gazed upon Emma with a look of upmost loathing, the kind of loathing that could only be inspired by the highest religious devotion. "Humans do not have abnormal abilities like yours. Such power is reserved for beings of higher importance. Angels and Demons. You are a vessel- a child chosen by Lucifer himself to host his minions of chaos. You already channel their powers. Possession is never far behind."

The room was utterly quiet as the three friends took in his words. Both Austin and Ally had looks of alarm plastered over their faces, but Emma barely saw it. Her world had come to a stark, cold standstill. She suddenly felt weak and lightheaded, and it took all of her concentration not to sink to the floor. She could feel her hands trembling, and beside her, the dogs whimpered uncertainly, not knowing what to make of their leader's mood.

"No… you have it wrong…" Emma voice was small and weak as she tried to bring up some sort of defense. "I'm not possessed. I'm not a demon child." Giving into her weakness momentarily, she sunk to the floor. "Why would Lucifer choose me?"

"That is a question you should ask your parents." He said. And, deeming that Emma was no longer an imminent threat, he returned to his silent state.

Austin, Ally and Emma knew right away that they wouldn't be getting anything else out of him that night, so the three of them headed back to the house, and the dogs back to the woods. Ally locked the back door behind them, and Emma gravitated towards the couch, upon which she proceeded to collapse. Austin and Ally came to sit around her.

There were a few moments of silence, before Austin spoke. "You don't really believe what he said, do you?" He asked.

"Yes, I do." Emma answered honestly.

"But why?" Ally asked, shocked.

Emma said and rolled over, looking both of them in the eyes one by one. "Because I can do what he said I could do. Because I killed a man, just as I almost killed him in that parking lot. Because I don't just believe in angels and demons- I accept that they exist. But most of all, because I can't think of a better reason for my parents to give me up illegally to a religious nut." She sunk into the couch, and growled. "Who'd want a demon child, after all?"

"You killed someone?" Ally blanched. Emma raised her eyebrows at her, confused, before turning to Austin with the same expression. He gave a deep sigh, and explained,

"Yeah. Emma was the one who killed John. She threw him against the wall. It saved my life." The last comment was a weak save, trying to cast some light on a horrible act.

Ally simply sighed and shook her head. "I probably should've been able to guess." She commented. Then, moving on, she added "But I don't think you're a vessel for demons. Saving lives just doesn't seem very demonic to me." Her words were encouraging, but there was a slight uncertainty in her eyes that Emma noticed.

"You don't believe that." Emma told her. "Not entirely. You've seen me when I get mad. Can you honestly say you don't see something different in me when I use my powers offensively?"

Austin and Ally shared an uneasy look before turning back to her. Ally frowned and said "It's your eyes. There's something wrong with them when you get mad."

"It's kinda like they're swirling." Austin added. "The red part moves, like a vortex."

"But you were still saving lives." Ally pointed out. "A demon doesn't do that."

"That's because I was only channelling a demon." Emma said. "I wasn't possessed by one, so my intention were still my own." She groaned and covered her eyes with her arm, trying to block out the uneasy looks she was getting from her brother and friend.

"You're afraid you're going to be possessed." Austin guessed. Emma nodded, keeping her arm on her eyes.

"Oh, Em," Ally said, her voice ringing with sympathy. It was all she could offer at the moment, because anything else- anything that would imply everything would be alright- would be a lie. "How about I get us some drinks?" Without waiting for an answer, Ally got up and went to the kitchen.

Austin shifted closer to her, and Emma uncovered her eyes to look at her brother. His eyes held the same sympathy that had rung in Ally's voice, but Emma knew he wasn't going to say anything about it, at least not until he had something positive to say.

"I got something for you." Austin said, lightening the mood immediately. A faint smile touched Emma's lips, and she raised her eyebrows at him. "Yeah?" She said.

"Mmhmm." Austin said. He pulled his backpack toward him- which he had dumped on the couch earlier- and starting rummaging through the mess inside. After a moment, he found what he was looking for, and with a triumphant look on his face, he handed her… a box.

"Uh…" Emma started, not really sure what to do with it. It was a small, intricate box, sort of like a jewelry box, but a bit too small to be one. It was made of wood- some dark wood- and had been polished to perfection. There was a small golden plaque with words that overlapped and she could only just make out: Shattered Innocence.

"Open it." Austin said. With a curious look at her brother, she did as he asked, and the moment she opened the lid, a soft tune drifted out.

It was a music box.

Emma smiled softly at the tune, listening to the sad, yet comforting song. She found herself suddenly enthralled by the story the tune was telling, and immediately understood the words on the small golden plaque.

"It reminded me of you." Austin said. Emma looked up at him and, surprising herself, found herself leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you." She whispered.

The sound of the doorbell broke into their moment, and Austin jumped up, yelling to Ally that he'd get it. Emma's smile grew a little wider and she followed her brother to the door.

It occurred to Emma much later how easier life would've been if she'd stayed on the couch.

Austin opened the door, his smile wide, no doubt expecting Trish, or Dez, or both. Instead, the looming figures of his parents appeared, and Austin's smile vanished, replaced by a mask of horror, which was mirrored by both parents as they gazed beyond their son at the albino standing behind him.


	15. Family Reunion

**All right, here it is. Emma's reunion with her parents. Let's see what happens…. **

**Disclaimer: I own not this wonderful show or its characters**

There was a moment of utter silence, the tension thick enough to slice with a knife, where Austin's parents gazed upon their daughter. Their faces were a jumble of emotions, everything from fear, to horror, to anger processing at some point in those few awkward seconds. Austin stood quietly, determined to let his parents be the one to break this silence, which, eventually, they did.

"Is… Is this the albino friend you were telling us about, dear?" Mimi Moon said, her voice weak and shaking as she tried in vain to hold back the coming storm.

Austin couldn't believe his ears. After everything they'd been through, after every lie they'd told him, they would still hold back the truth, even as it was staring them in the face. He felt anger stirring in his chest, and his retort wasn't entirely unexpected, "Save it."

Both parents looked shocked, unused to having their son talk back at them. Emma chuckled darkly behind Austin, and starting moving to the living room. Austin turned to follow, but stopped when he realised neither of his parents had moved. He glanced back at them, and raised an eyebrow at them.

"Well," He said. "Are you coming?"

With mirrored looks of dismay, the Moons nodded, and followed their son into the living room.

Emma had already resumed her seat on the couch. She didn't look up when their parents walked in, and instead made a show of studying every inch of the music box Austin had just given her. Ally was sitting next to her, her body tense and face grim. She nodded politely to the Moons as they walked in, but didn't make a sound. She knew just as well as everyone else did that this would be a critical moment for the Moons, and Austin knew she had no plans on interrupting.

Austin took the seat next to Ally, and his parents sat down on the love seat across from them. Austin held his ground, refusing to look away from his parents. They, on the other hand, seemed unable to keep their gaze on their children for more than a few seconds, and kept their gaze down for the most part. Aware that they didn't want to have this conversation, Austin decided to start it for them.

"So," He said, trying to keep his voice neutral. "You've got some explaining to do."

Austin's dad looked ready to reprimand him for using that tone, but Mimi put a restraining hand on him, and he stayed quiet. Looking at her son, she said "We always meant to tell you someday, sweetie, when you were ready." She seemed sincere.

Emma scoffed, still studying the music box. "Sure you were." She said. "That's why you went through so much trouble to keep it secret. Faking the funeral. Making sure you never knew who took me. I'm sure it was all just a temporary satisfaction." Her voice was starting to shake, and Austin could see her fingers clenching the box like a lifeline.

"Amelia, dear-" Mimi started. But that was all it took to set her off- the sound of her real name out of her mother's mouth. Acknowledgement from the ones who abandoned her. She finally turned her angry gaze to her parents and, tossing the box aside, she yelled,

"You abandoned me! You took away the things that mattered most in my life and tossed me aside like a piece of junk! You didn't even bother to find out who exactly you were handing me off too, no, you just gave me away to the church like the good little believers you think you are! Do you have any idea the hell I've been through? Do you even have an inkling of what it was like to live like that for ten years, watching everyone die in front of me? Do you think I deserved that, just because I was born different than everyone else? I lost everything! And you did that to me…"

As fast as the anger had appeared, it dissipated, and Emma sank back into the couch, with a terrible look of sadness on her face. She hugged herself and pulled her knees up, repeating quietly "You did that to me." Ally put a sympathetic arm around the albino, and Austin continued.

"Why did you abandon her?" His voice was almost as quiet as his sister's. "How could you do that to her? To both of us?"

Mimi Moon had already dissolved into tears, and all of her husband's earlier anger had dissipated, replaced by the deepest look of remorse Austin had ever seen. Looking straight at his son, he said "We did it for you."

Austin blinked. Then blinked again. Did he hear right? Did his father really just say that he ruined his sister's life for him? Austin thinks so. And it was the most awful thing he'd ever been told in his life.

"How does tearing our family apart and ruining my sister help me?" Austin demanded, trying desperately to keep his voice steady. Getting angry with them right now wouldn't help the situation.

Mimi Moon quieted her sobs and looked up at her son, desperation in her eyes. "It was the only way to keep you safe."

He was so shocked, he forgot his anger for a moment. "Keep me safe?" Austin asked.

"Your sister is dangerous." Mimi said. "She should have died at birth, but she was brought back through divine intervention. That left a mark on her. She will always be connected to the afterlife, and those who dwell there. She is a vessel- a doorway from our world to the next. Dark forces will always try to use that connection. You have no idea how vulnerable she is to possession."

"I think," Ally said, voicing as a neutral party. "You should start at the beginning. We can't make a proper judgement until we have the full story."

"Fair enough." Mimi said, giving Ally a faint smile that she didn't return. Drawing in a deep breath, Mimi grasped her husband's hand and told Emma's story.

"We knew right away from the pregnancy that something was different. Amelia was too small- she didn't grow much in the womb. She wasn't active enough, either. We worried to no end about what it all meant, and whether or not our baby girl would survive." She glanced quickly at Emma, but she kept her head down. Mimi continued "She came prematurely. I was nearing eight months when my water broke, and we were both despairing as we headed to the hospital. We hoped so much she would survive… but she didn't." Austin's mom drew a shaky breath. "Amelia was without a heartbeat for six minutes exactly. The doctors were all flabbergasted when she woke up. They said it was impossible. But they hadn't seen what we had. They didn't know that our daughter eyelids had closed over grey eyes- and opened over red ones. But we did. We knew what she'd become." Mimi turned her attention to her daughter and addressed her "Church laws said we were supposed to hand you over for the cleansing ceremony, but we knew that meant death. We couldn't give you up to that."

Emma frowned at her mother. "But you did give me up." She reminded her. "What difference did it make when you did it?"

"It was the difference between life and death." Mimi answered. "If we'd handed you over at birth, you'd be dead."

Emma considered this for a moment, then said wryly "Would've been better if you had."

"Em!" Austin and Ally reprimanded her simultaneously, frowning in her direction. She just looked down solemnly, not acknowledging their response.

"Anyways," Mimi continued, as if her daughter hadn't just admitted she'd rather be dead, "We tried to make it work. We dyed your hair and gave you contacts, though neither worked well. Our goal was to keep the church from finding out what you were. We didn't doubt that they would come for you if they knew. This worked out for years, and we'd even begun to hope we might be able to provide you a somewhat normal life… until you started developing your powers."

This was surprising to Austin, and from the look on Emma's face, she was equally shocked. As far as they knew, Emma's powers hadn't surfaced until that night with John. Austin certainly couldn't recall any supernatural moments in his childhood.

"It started with the animals." Austin's mother told him. "There is a common belief that animals are repelled by the supernatural, but this isn't true. They are drawn it, like moths to a flame. By the time Amelia had turned three, animals would flock to her. Mice and rats infested the house. Birds came down the chimney. Some squirrels even made their way in the attic. But still we tried. We wouldn't give up our daughter because of some animal problems.

"The real problem came when Amelia started demonstrating basic telekinesis. It came out when she was angry or upset. Things would shake, glass would shatter, and we couldn't get near her to calm her down. We couldn't take her out at all, least she get upset and cause problems in public. Eventually, we got to the point where it was dangerous to be near her, and we put all our efforts into keeping her happy. We sent you outside all the time to keep you two apart, but how could we explain the situation to a six year old boy? You didn't understand the danger.

One day, we made the mistake of leaving the both of you alone. It was just for a few minutes, but in those minutes you managed to upset your sister. Her telekinetic response sent you tumbling down the staircase. It was sheer luck you weren't seriously hurt."

Emma cast a horrified look in Austin's direction. Austin, on the other hand, was just confused. He couldn't remember that moment at all. Then again, he had been six. He didn't remember much of anything from back then, but this still seemed like something he should be able to remember, and he told his parents as much.

"You hit your head." Mimi explained. "You didn't remember anything from that day."

"Oh." Austin said, feeling idiotic. He should've thought of that.

"After that, we couldn't risk having Amelia around. If she was an only child, then maybe we could've made it work. But we had a son to think about as well." Mimi turned her gaze to Emma. "We took you to a church society we thought would take care of you. We were promised that they would protect others from your powers, and that they would protect you from possession. We thought you were safe."

Emma couldn't even muster any anger. She was too smart- she understood their reasoning. More than that, she was already horrified at the prospect of having hurt Austin once, and she couldn't begrudge her parents for taking measures to protect their son.

Austin could feel his own anger subsiding. If what his mother said was true, then they really had tried to take care of his sister. He didn't entirely agree with the measures they'd taken to protect him, but they really hadn't known what else to do. But still…

"They lied." Austin pointed out to them. "John didn't take care of Emma. He locked her in a basement and murdered children in front of her."

"No" Emma disagreed. She fixed Austin with a hard look. "They did exactly what they said they would. John fed me, kept me clean, and isolated me from the rest of the world. And do you remember all the symbols John had drawn on his main floor?"

Austin nodded. John had covered every square inch of his main floor with symbols and bible quotes. He remembered most vividly the pentagram on which Emma had killed John. Emma continued "Those symbols were meant to ward off demons. Keeping me locked in that basement kept me safe from possession. It cut me off from the otherworld. That's why I never showed signs of my powers down there."

"And so when you got out…" Austin began, a feeling of dread seeping through him.

"I became vulnerable again." Emma finished. She sighed, and picked up the music box again, tracing the gold letters on the side.

"So what do we do now?" Austin said, exasperated.

"Well, for one, we need to make sure that Mr. and Mrs. Moon won't tell anyone about Em." Ally said, patting the albino on the back comfortingly. "We aren't giving her up to the church."

Austin turned his gaze to his parents. They both wore a look of determination that made Austin hope that things might turn out okay for his family after all. His father said "We will keep your secret. We already lost our daughter once. We won't give her up again." Mimi Moon was nodding along as he spoke.

Emma smiled faintly at her parents, the faintest traces of hope glittering in her eyes.

"I hope you mean it." She said "Because things are going to be a lot harder now than they were back then."


	16. Everything Changes

**Well guys, I finally got the next chapter up! I know, I know, it's been a month. I'm so sorry. All I can say is this; writer's block. But that's past now, and I know exactly where I'm going with this, finally. So you guys won't have to wait nearly as long for the next chapter! **

**I'd do a disclaimer thing for the song lyrics, but since I wrote them, I don't have to ;) **

**I do have to say that Austin and Ally belongs strictly to Disney, and only Disney. (You know what else belongs to Disney? KINGDOM HEARTS! I'm addicted) **

**Anyways, enjoy! **

The Moons didn't stick around to chat. They spent only a short five minutes putting an effort into catching up with their daughter, before announcing that they had other places to be.

"But we'll be back as soon as we can." Mrs. Moon assured her daughter, as the three kids escorted them to the door. "In fact…" She glanced at her husband anxiously. "You could come home with us, if you like."

Emma took in her parents for a moment, considering the offer. Ally couldn't imagine why she'd say no. This was her chance to reconnect with her family, and she could spend more time with Austin, something she valued greatly. But still, the thought of Emma moving out sent chills of fear up Ally's spine. She was the one who could control Raphael. If she wasn't around, Ally would have no guarantee that she'd be safe with him tied up in the back. He'd threatened her with a knife, after all. Ally wouldn't be forgetting that anytime soon.

But Ally need not have worried, because after another moment of thought, Emma gave a deep sigh and said "Thank you, but I'd rather stay here with Ally, at least for a little while. I'm already settled in and everything anyways."

The Moons looked slightly disappointed, but they respected her wish and let it go. With another smile, they turned to leave. Austin stopped them before they got anywhere, however.

"Wait" He said, raising his eyebrows at his parents. "What did you come here for in the first place?"

"Oh my!" Mimi exclaimed, bringing her hand to her mouth. "I'd completely forgotten! John, give me the letter."

The trio watched curiously as Mr. Moon held a letter out to his wife's beckoning hand. She snatched it from him and handed it to a bewildered Ally, and said "This arrived at our doorstep, though as you can see, it is clearly addressed to you. We figured the mailman must have made a mistake, so we decided to bring it to you on our way."

Mimi Moon was right. The letter was plainly addressed to Ally. This actually bothered her a fair bit, since there really wasn't anyone who would be sending her mail. The letter didn't show the sender's name or address, making it all the more ominous.

If the Moons noticed Ally's discomfort, they didn't say anything. With a smile, the Moons waved their children goodbye (while reminding Austin of his curfew) and rushed off, not looking back once.

As soon as Ally had shut the door, Emma overflowed with questions. "Who's it from?" She asked. "Does it have a name? Is my or Austin's name on it, too? I just can't see any mailman making that kind of mistake, you know. So why would it have been sent to Austin's house?..."

"Em!" Austin interrupted with a small smile. "How about we open the letter and find out?"

"Right." Ally agreed. And, with a small sense of foreboding, Ally opened the letter, and read;

_Dear Miss Dawson, _

_It has come to our attention that you have been sheltering a dangerous enemy of the world. We feel it is our duty to warn you of the imminent danger that rests within your walls. The albino child that you have come to call Emma is, in fact, a dangerous murderer by the true name of Amelia Moon. She is a child born of the devil, a chosen vessel to bring demons into our world. Our church tried once to turn her off of that terrible path, to no avail. She murdered one of our brothers and fled to the darkest corners of the world. Now that she has surfaced, we implore of you to see reason. Turn the demon over to us. We shall handle her the way she should have been handled from the moment of her birth. If you do not, it is likely she will soon turn against you and your friends and cause great damage. The devil within cannot be controlled, you must understand. She has already taken another of our brother's hostage, of which you are most likely unaware. Protect your friends, Ally Dawson, and protect yourself. Bring the demon child to the church of the great trinity by the night of the full moon. The Moons will show you the way._

_Yours sincerely, _

_Master Joshua, priest of the holy trinity. _

A thick moment of silence followed. None of them knew what to say. This letter changed everything. It brought their already serious predicament up into genuinely dangerous territory. How did they know? How did this trinity church find out about Raphael? And John? They even knew that Emma was staying with Ally. How long had these people been watching them?

Emma basically surmised the whole thing in a single word. "Crap."

"You can say that again." Austin said, shaking his head. "These people have been watching us the whole time."

"And now they want us to hand Emma over to them." Ally finished, her hand shaking as she grasped the letter. "They're crazy."

"Not crazy." Emma corrected. "They're just very set in their ways." She reached for the note, and Ally let her have it. Emma turned the page over a couple times, examining the message and the letter itself. "I wonder how they know I have Raphael?"

"It's like Austin said," Ally answered her, scowling. "They've had their eyes on us the whole time."

Austin nodded in agreement, but Emma still didn't seem convinced. "That doesn't quite make sense." She explained with a frown. "If they've been watching the house, then they should know that the two of you are just as involved in keeping him chained up as me. But this Joshua guy seems to think that Ally, at least, isn't involved. So they can't be watching the house."

"Then how do they know all this?" Ally asked, exasperated.

"Maybe its Raphael." Austin said with a scowl. "Maybe he's been in contact with them the whole time. Think about it; this guy is supposed to be part of a group that has allegedly been dealing with people like Em for centuries. He should've known his plan to capture her wouldn't work, especially since he knows exactly what she's capable of. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that's a bit suspicious."

Ally just stared at him in shock, too overcome for words. He was right, of course, and Ally was ashamed she hadn't thought of it earlier. Raphael had come too quietly. He hadn't even attempted escape since being captured. Maybe he had meant for them to capture him in the first place.

The same thought seemed to process in Emma's mind at the same time, and she swore loudly out of frustration. She yelled "He's been testing me! This whole time, we've been trying to get information out of him, when really he's the one who's been gathering Intel. That display back there we just had? He now knows exactly what I can do and how well I can do it. How can I be so stupid!?" With another growl, she collapsed on the couch, covering her eyes with her arm. Ally sat next to her, patting her gently on the arm.

"We can't beat ourselves up about it now." Ally told the two siblings. "We can't take back the knowledge we've already handed over. What we can do is prevent Raphael from gathering any more information."

"So what, should we let him go?" Austin asked skeptically, crossing his arms.

"Of course not." Ally said, rolling her eyes at him. "We just won't talk to him anymore, and we'll keep Emma away from him too, so he can't report on what's going on with her. So long as we're careful, Raphael won't be able to tell the church anything."

"That's smart." Emma admitted from behind her arm. "But what about the rest? We have a deadline now. What do you think they're gonna do if you guys don't hand me over tomorrow night?"

Ally hadn't realised the full moon was so close, and it took her a moment to seize control of her rising panic. With a deep breath, she said "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The important thing right now is that we are not handing you over."

"No matter what." Austin finished, his tone fierce. "We're family, Emma. We'll take care of you. Don't worry."

"Ok," Emma said, not sounding at all convinced.

"I have to go." Austin announced after a moment of silence. "I'll see you two tomorrow morning, kay?"

Emma waved him off with a mumbled goodbye, and Ally followed him to the door to see him off.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Ally asked Austin quietly, biting her lip anxiously as she glanced back at the living room, where the albino still lay on the couch.

"She'll be fine," Austin said confidently. "She's strong. She can handle anything anyone throws at her. Even demonic possession."

There was a time those words would have made her laugh, but now they just sent chills up her spine. "I hope you're right."

For a moment, Austin just stood there, giving her a very strange look she wasn't used to, but sent thrills through her body. Then, catching her by surprised, he reached out a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear gently. She felt sparks shoot down from where their skin touched, causing her entire world to reel for a couple moments.

"Don't worry," Austin reassured her again. "Everything will work out perfectly. You'll see."

Ally just smiled at him, still too dazed to form a complete sentence. He grinned back at her, and, with one last fleeting look, left for home.

Ally could still feel her skin tingling long after the door closed.

Emma had watched the whole love scene unfold from her comfortable spot on the couch, with a slight ache in her chest. Oh, she was happy for them, and she was thrilled to have been there the moment Ally realised her feelings for Austin, but watching their romance was also a sore reminder that she'd never have that sort of love in her life.

Her time was running short.

Until that conversation with Raphael and her parents, she hadn't realised what had been happening to her. She'd known her powers had been growing, and she'd certainly been working to develop them. She'd been feeling a sort of lack of control in her abilities the whole time, though, and now she knew why. It was the demon. A demon trying to take hold of her. Now that she was really thinking about it, she could feel it- a dark presence in the back of her mind, vying for control. And she had no idea how long she could hold out against it. Unbidden, a song from her childhood came crawling back to her;

_Can you hear the sounds of a ghost? _

_Listen, she whispers to you_

_See the pearls of her eyes_

_As her arms surround you… _

She'd written those lyrics back before she'd been sent to live with John. Maybe she'd felt what was happening to her, and tried to personify it in words. But there were no words for it. Not even 'possession' really captured it. And she was scared.

_One step is all it took down this road_

_Fate relentless_

_And this wound opens_

_And it bleeds, it bleeds, it bleeds_

What if the guy who wrote the letter was right? What would happen if she lost control? She'd never forgive herself if Austin or Ally got hurt because she didn't have the foresight to protect them. Maybe she really was better off locked away. She should be in a basement, surrounding by walls and spells to make her safe. Being out in the open was dangerous, especially for the people she loved.

"Emma?" Ally called. The albino flipped over to look at the older girl. "I'm going to bed now."

Emma nodded quietly, and watched as Ally dragged herself upstairs. She turned her gaze to the music box her brother had given to her, and opened it, letting the soft music drift out. She knew this tune. She hadn't told Austin about it, because she hadn't been able to place it at first. Every time she turned on the TV, she went straight to the anime channel. One of them was called Elfen Lied (she really shouldn't watch it) and that's where the music box came from. Austin had no idea just how much that tune related to her. If he did, he probably wouldn't have gotten this music box.

She was just like her. Lucy. And, like the diclonius, she would always be a danger to the humans around her. The more she thought about, the more she was sure.

There was no choice.

Quietly, the albino tiptoed over to the back door, and slid it open, hoping desperately that Ally didn't hear it. She closed the door softly behind her, and darted to the shed in the back.

Thankfully, Raphael was perfectly alert when she entered. He seemed surprised, but not at all worried. Emma wanted to kick herself for not seeing it sooner.

"We got the note." Emma informed him. His lip twitched. "Tell me this; what happens to Austin and Ally if they don't hand me over?" This was the last piece, the final tidbit of information that would make or break her decision.

Raphael seemed more than happy to answer. "If they don't hand you over, than they will be considered your accomplices, and will suffer the same fate that awaits you."

Emma's shoulders slumped in defeat. She'd expected as much. With a deep sigh, she flicked her hand toward him, and unraveled his chains. He stared back suspiciously, not daring to move.

"Why do you free me?"

Emma couldn't even look him in the face. "My friends mean something to me." She told him. "If I can save them by handing myself over, than that's what I have to do. Take me to the church."

This was her problem. It was her fight, no one else's.

And she'd go to hell and back to keep her friends out of it from now on.


	17. A Bad Omen

**So, here's the next chapter. To be honest, I was rather surprised that I found the time to work on this story, especially with exams coming up and everything, but I'm really glad I got to post this sooner rather than later, especially with things heating up in the story. I'm not quite sure how much further the story's going to go, but I can safely say that we're more than halfway done. **

**Anyways, enjoy! Please review and tell me what you think! **

**And I don't own Austin and Ally. **

Something was wrong.

Austin knew it the second he opened his eyes that morning. It was a feeling in the pit of his stomach, almost like a hole had formed right where something else used to be. Something was definitely off- and it worried him.

His first thought was that something was wrong with Ally. Just thinking about it made him feel sick to his stomach. Then he reminded himself that Ally was with Emma, so she was perfectly safe. It didn't comfort him entirely, but it did calm him down. He silently promised himself that he would go over to Ally's right after breakfast.

With a slightly frantic energy, Austin got himself dressed and rushed downstairs for breakfast. His parents were both still asleep, for which Austin was grateful for. After everything that had happened the day before with Emma, he really wouldn't know what to say to them.

Austin rushed out the door soon after, setting a new personal record for the time it took him to get out the door. He jumped in the car and drove over to Ally's place in complete silence, still unable to shake off the feeling.

Needless to say he was very relieved when Ally was the one to open the door, looking tired and pale, but very much okay. His relief, however, was washed away in an instant when he got a good look at Ally. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, as if she'd been crying, and her hands shook from anxiety. Everything about her posture screamed distress.

"What is it?" Austin asked before she could say anything.

Her lip quivered slightly as she answered. "Emma's gone."

For a moment, Austin just stood there, not truly processing her words. Then the meaning sunk in, and Austin felt himself go cold. "What do you mean, gone?"

"She's gone!" Ally repeated despairingly. She retreated back into the house, and Austin followed her, closing the door behind him. "I've looked everywhere." Ally continued. "I don't think she even went to bed last night. And… and…"

"What?" Austin probed.

A tear escaped Ally's eye as she finished. "Raphael is gone too."

Crap.

Austin could feel his own hands begin to shake as panic started to truly seize him. Raphael and Emma, gone. Since last night. They could be anywhere by now.

But they wouldn't go just anywhere. Raphael would take Emma where his people would deal with her. He would take Emma to the trinity church.

"We need to go after her." Austin said, more to himself than to Ally. Still, she frowned at him, and asked,

"You know where she went?"

Austin raised his eyes at her, shocked that she hadn't figured it out for herself yet. "If Raphael took her, then he would've brought her to that church from the letter." He explained. "The letter said my parents will know where it is. We'll get them to take us there."

Ally's eyes went wide, then she slapped her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "I can't believe I didn't think of that!" She exclaimed. She rushed to the door, pulling on a sweater and a pair of boots. "Let's go! There's no time to lose."

Austin would've laughed if he hadn't felt the seriousness of the situation himself. So he simply rushed after her, closing the door behind them and jumping in the car. Ally nearly broke the speed limits getting to Austin's house.

"Should we call Trish and Dez?" Austin asked Ally as they sped down the roads.

"They're out camping." Ally said. "No service. We'd never be able to reach them in time."

Austin blinked in shock, forgetting, for a moment, about Emma's situation. "They're camping?" He asked. "As in, in a tent? Together?" Austin dredged up the memories of when he'd last spoken to Dez. He had seemed a little nervous for some reason.

Ally cracked a smile. "I know, it shocked me too. It was Dez's parents who thought of it. I bet he only got Trish to go because he didn't want to be left alone with them, and he knew better to invite either of us with Emma and Raphael in the picture."

Austin smiled himself, trying to picture those two trying to share a campsite. "I wonder how much Dez had to pay Trish to get her to go along?" He wondered.

"Bet you they don't last the night." Ally said, chuckling slightly. Then, all at once, it came back to the two of them how serious the situation was, and both smiles vanished. They spent the rest of the ride in silence.

Austin was first out of the car when they reached his house. Ally had only just turned the car off when Austin reached the door. He stormed right in, not bothering to take his shoes off at the door.

"Mom! Dad!" Austin called, as Ally entered behind him, closing the door. Both parents came into the hallway in an instant, staring at the pair in confusion. Mimi Moon's expression turned to worry as she took in the look on her son's face.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Austin's mother asked.

Austin rushed out a quick explanation of the situation as he zoomed around the room, throwing some things into a small bag. His parents' faces got paler with every word out of Austin's mouth.

When Austin finished his explanation, his father gave a deep sigh, and said "If the church has taken her, we're going to have to fight to get her back. We cannot reason with them on this matter. They believe that their way of dealing with your sister's kind is the best."

"Showing support for her is dangerous." Austin's mother continued. "If they suspect that we are being controlled by the demon within Amelia, they won't hesitate to attack and restrain us."

"What happens if they capture us?" Ally asked from the corner of the room.

"If we're lucky, they'll perform an exorcism." Mr. Moon answered. "If not, they'll do to us what they plan to do to Amelia."

Austin asked the question that had been hovering at the back of everyone's minds. "What will they do to her?"

Mimi Moon's shoulders slumped as she answered. "They will either kill her, or try to control her. They'll probably try to use her first, while planning to dispose of her once using her becomes too dangerous."

Ally shook her head in denial. "Emma wouldn't let them use her like that." She said.

Austin frowned at her, his mind back a couple months ago, when he had done something very similar to what his sister was about to do. "Yes she would." Austin said. "As long as it means keeping her friends and family safe."

Ally paled as she, also, recalled the moment when Austin had done something very similar. Her lip quivered in frustration and she blinked repeatedly, as if fighting back tears. Austin stopped in his tracks and, in a flash, was next to her with his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder in response.

"It'll be fine." Austin whispered to her. "We'll get her out. We might even get to kick some religious butt."

Ally chuckled slightly at his attempt at a joke. "Okay." She said. Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from him, and said to the Moons "We need you to take us to that church."

The Moons were shocked. "Absolutely not!" Austin's mom said. "We are the only ones who will be going. It's far too dangerous for you two to come along."

Austin just shook his head at them in exasperation. "No." He told them. "Like it or not, we're a part of this fight now. Ally and I are the ones who have been taking care of Emma. We're the ones who held Raphael. It's our job to go after them. If anyone should be staying behind, it should be you guys."

Mimi Moon looked like she was going to argue some more, but her husband placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a small shake of his head, keeping her quiet. Turning to his son, he said "I know there's nothing we can do to stop you from going. So at least take whatever help we can give you. We're coming too."

Austin smiled at his parents in relief. "Thank you." He said.

The four of them piled quietly into the vehicle waiting outside, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. Ally and Austin sat together in the back seat, and the girl leaned onto Austin for comfort, no doubt nervous of the danger they were driving into. Austin put his arms around her and held her close, drawing strength from having her near.

He had to believe that this would work. He had to believe that he'd get his sister back.

The drive to the church took them further and further from Miami, until all signs of the city was completely gone. They drove down country roads for quite some time, until the Moons spotted a tiny road covered in plants and dirt. No doubt if they hadn't been looking for it, they would have missed it completely. They turned onto the road, and urged the car over the bumpy soil for nearly twenty minutes, until finally, a building came into view.

Completely surrounded by trees and with only one tiny road leading to it, Austin didn't doubt that this church was kept secret from the rest of the world, yet it was clean and well-kept. The design of the church itself was quite old-fashioned. The building was made of grey stone polished to perfection, which rose as high as the ancient trees surrounding it, and was topped with a silver cross. The building itself was pretty big for a church, at least 50 feet wide and significantly bigger in length. From the sides of the building, Austin could just make out the designs of beautiful stained-glass windows. There seemed to be only one way in, which were the giant brass doors at the front of the building. Austin might've thought they'd jumped back in time, had it not been for the cars parked around the building. His parents only just managed to find a spot.

The group walked together in total silence toward the door, the two children not quite knowing what to expect. Did they hold services there? Would there be an organ playing inside? Or did they perhaps carry medieval torture tools, with a stake in the back to burn witches on? Maybe they even had a dungeon.

Austin didn't have much time to think about it, because as soon as they knocked on the door, it burst open, revealing the form of a priest, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Taking in the Moons, he seemed to relax for a moment, but as his gaze wandered to the two teenagers behind them, he tensed up again, his face splitting into a humourless smile.

"Well, well," He said, as if reprimanding them. "Austin Moon and Ally Dawson. We've been expecting you. I am Master Joshua."

"The priest that sent us that letter." Austin said in acknowledgment. He scowled at him. Austin couldn't help but blame him a little bit for their current predicament.

The priest nodded, not at all bothered by Austin's dangerous expression. He stepped aside, and waved his hand forward in a gesture of invitation. With a deep sense of foreboding, and Ally clinging to his hand, Austin took a deep breath, and stepped into the dark interior of the trinity church.


	18. Captured

**Check it out, guys! A new chapter already! I'm expecting updates to come more quickly now, since we're approaching the climax of the story. Believe me, I'm as excited as you are to see where this story is going to end up. Anyways, enjoy! **

**P.S. This update is for you grandpa! I hope you like it! **

**Oh, and I don't own Austin and Ally. **

Austin's first reaction to seeing the inside of the church was relief. There were absolutely no torture devices in sight, nor did it seem archaic in any way. The layout was actually quite modern, with the pews and the organ and even a camera security system (Austin supposed that a church who dealt with demons wouldn't be as trustworthy as other churches).

But still, there was something about the church that seemed eerie. Maybe it was just due to the reason he was here, but Austin almost felt threatened, as if someone had a weapon trained on him, but he couldn't see it. He kept his hold on Ally for good measure.

Austin flinched at the sound of the door closing behind him, and turned slowly to face the priest. Joshua had a smile plastered on his face, completely devoid of emotion. As Austin took him in, he realised with a shock that this priest was actually quite young, probably not even in his thirties yet. Austin had always sort of figured that all priests were old. Maybe this church had different job requirements.

"It is a pleasure to have you in our church again, Mr. and Mrs. Moon." Joshua started, nodding in greeting at the couple. They nodded back politely, though their movements were slightly strained. Joshua turned to Austin and Ally, and continued. "We are always welcoming of new recruits to our cause, though I doubt that is the purpose that brought you to us."

Ally rolled her eyes at him, and Austin scowled. "Of course we don't want to join." Austin said. "We're not crazy. We came to get my sister back."

The effect of his words was instantaneous. Joshua's smile vanished, replaced by a look of menace that Austin hadn't known a priest could possess. The group became suddenly aware that they weren't the only ones in the room. People, no doubt members of the church, came out of the corners of the room, all of them fixing the group with a hard stare. Austin, Ally and the Moons huddled together instinctively, drawing safety in numbers.

Two figures came forward to join Joshua in front of the group. One of them was an imposing female in her mid-thirties, with long, curling black hair cascading down her back. The other was Raphael.

Austin's heart skipped a beat at the sight of their former prisoner. Thankfully, it was the female who spoke first.

"My name is Evangeline." She told the children, in a strong, but emotionless, voice. "I am the head of this church. Speak to me, children, and answer me this; why would you have us free a demon, only to have it prey upon innocents?"

Austin shook his head at the woman in disgust. "She's not a demon." He told her. "She's just a receptor. She can fight it off. My sister is strong."

Some of the members of the crowd shifted uncomfortably, but the woman didn't even blink. "No mortal being can fight off a possession once a demon has taken hold. We can only cast them out once they've entered the body."

Ally asked her "Then why can't you do that with Emma? Why do you have to kill her kind when you have the ability to cast the demon out?"

Evangeline looked down at Ally as if she were a toddler who refused to believe the earth was round. "You do not understand." She said simply. "Amelia Moon is a receptor for higher forces. She died at birth and was brought back through demon magic. She has a connection with demons that cannot be broken through mere exorcism. Only death can free her from her fate of possession."

Mrs. Moon finally found her voice, and asked the church leader quietly, "How can we know that, if none have been allowed to live for centuries?"

Evangeline's face softened into something that was almost like sympathy. "I know this has been especially hard on the two of you." She said to the Moons. "Your daughter cannot avoid her fate. Even she was aware of this, and came to us willingly."

Austin felt his blood boil with anger at her words. "You're wrong!" He shouted. Pointing at Raphael, he added "He took her!"

Raphael chuckled, as if Austin's anger didn't bother him in the slightest. "Do you truly believe that I could have brought her here had she not been willing?"

Austin's flow of anger came to an abrupt halt. He thought about it for a moment, and decided that no, Raphael could not have kidnapped Emma. Her abilities were too well developed. Had she wanted to, she could have pinned him to the floor with a single thought.

But that meant she'd given herself over willingly.

Austin began to shake slightly, and his eyes stung with tears that were trying to escape. "Why?" He managed to ask. "Why would she give herself up?"

"Were you not listening?" Evangeline scolded. "Your sister knew she could not fight off possession much longer. Rather than risk her friends and family, she came to us and asked that we deal with the situation."

"Bet you still have her locked up, though." Ally growled.

"Of course we do." Evangeline said. "The demon may emerge at any time. We must keep her confined while we prepare the ceremony."

A whimper escaped Mimi Moon's throat, and her husband rubbed her arm comfortingly. Austin went cold. His parents had mentioned the ceremony before, back when they were telling the story of his sister's childhood.

If he remembered correctly, it involved murder.

Austin opened his mouth to protest, but was instead shocked by a member of the crowd stepping forward instead.

"Ma'am," He said, protesting weakly. "This child is unlike the other children of blood. She is grown. Surely there must be another way to suppress-"

"Silence!" Evangeline shouted. The man shrank back in fear, but as he did, a girl to his side stepped forward.

"But ma'am, there is a way." She said. "We've all heard rumours of the amulet-"

"I will not rest the fate of innocent lives on some rumour!" The leader yelled back. The girl, like the man previously, shrank back into the crowd, and Austin quickly lost sight of her. His heart had leapt slightly at the words she'd spoken, but whatever this rumour was, he knew Emma didn't have the sort of time they'd need to follow it. The leader was too set in her ways.

Mr. Moon addressed Evangeline for the first time. "So, you shall not sway in your decision to kill my daughter."

"I am sorry." She answered. "This is the only way. I am even more deeply sorry that you could not hand her over at birth. Had you done so, your son would not have been dragged into this business."

With that awful statement, Evangeline turned, and disappeared into the crowd of people. Joshua took over from her, and said "You should leave now. Know that the Moon and Dawson family are not welcome in this church. That is the lightest punishment we can offer for associating with a demon."

Austin scoffed at the man. He couldn't believe his ears. "We aren't going anywhere without Emma." Austin said to him.

Joshua's shoulders slumped, and for a moment, he seemed genuinely sad that they had refused his offer. Then he gathered himself, and told them coldly, "Then you shall suffer the same fate as your demon friend." He turned to address the crowd; "Seize them!"

Some members of the crowd hesitated at the order, but most surged forward in undying loyalty. Austin caught sight of weapons he hadn't noticed before, weapons that looked suspiciously like tranquiliser guns. He stepped in front of Ally protectively, hoping to shield her from the weapons, and quickly pulled his bag off his back. Digging through the contents, he found what he was looking for, and pulled out his metallic Airsoft gun with a sly smile.

Now, Airsoft guns most certainly won't kill a person the way a true gun would (on the contrary, they were creative to be non-lethal replicas of lethal weapons), but the pressure through which the gun shoots the beads would hurt anyone, even more so at such a point-blank distance. The crowd seemed to realise this as well, and they halted in their forward surge, parting to allow those with tranquiliser guns a clear shot at the group.

Austin smiled triumphantly as the people with tranquilisers came into his line of fire. He'd expected the crowd to part, and thus was prepared to fire as soon as he had a clear target. His stomach churned uneasily at the thought of intentionally shooting at someone, but all he had to do was remind himself that he had to protect Ally, and his resolve hardened. He lifted the Airsoft gun, quickly aimed at the nearest target, and fired.

Almost immediately, the man he'd aimed at gave out a strangled scream, and doubled over in pain. The church members stared in shock as a thin trail of blood began to leak past the man's hand. For a moment, Austin was deathly afraid he'd truly injured the man, but he quickly reminded himself that at this distance, though the beads could penetrate the skin, lethal damage would not occur. On that thought, he turned the gun on the next nearest tranquiliser, and fired.

The church's reaction of panic to Austin's shooting was so strong, that Austin figured they'd never really had anyone fight back the way he was doing. Many of the members retreated immediately, hiding behind solid objects so as to no longer be in the line of fire. Only those remaining with tranquiliser continued to fight against them. Austin kept up a line of fire against the church members, and for a fleeting moment, he actually believed they might get out of there.

That is, until a dart finally made its way to the group.

A short scream from behind him alerted him that something had gone wrong. He glanced back and saw, to his horror, his mother collapsing into his father's arms, quickly fading into unconsciousness from the drug in the dart. His father's eyes blazed with anger, and he turned to the crowd, ready to fight for his wife, just as another dart came zooming in, and stuck to his side. Within moments, Austin's father slumped to the ground, his eyes drooping, his muscles giving out beneath him as he came to rest in a heap next to his fallen wife.

With a cry, Austin turned back to the crowd, ready to target the remaining fighters, but he'd averted his eyes for too long. The church members advanced on him, and, before he could so much as lift the gun, two came forward and seized him. Austin tugged and twisted against the strong arms that held him, and from behind him, he could hear Ally doing the same. A third man came toward him and, after a few moments of struggle, managed to rip the gun out of Austin's hands. Still, Austin would not give until darkness took him. He kept struggling.

Out of the corner of his eye, Austin caught the sight of a group of members dragging his parents into a back room. Halting in his struggles for a moment, Austin called to them in a panic "Where are you taking them!?"

It was one the members who held Austin captive that answered him "They will be taken to an exorcism chamber, where the demon influence shall be washed from their minds."

Austin felt a prick in his side. He looked down in shock, and noticed a small dart sticking out of his side. Damn it. They'd tranquilised him.

With the last of his fading strength, Austin managed to ask "I thought you were going to kill us?..."

As the darkness took hold of him, Austin only just made out his captor's response "The Moons are church members. You are not. Miss Dawson and yourself are the ones who shall suffer the demon's fate."

**Just so you guys know, I did specifically look up the effects of an airsoft gun, just to make sure the effects would be accurate. Also, to clear something else up, the trinity church is technically a branch of the Roman Catholic Church, hence the name 'trinity'. Although, the majority of Christian faiths are basically the same, in the way that they have priests and services and songs and whatnot. Though this particular church deals with demons, so it may have some elements from other religions as well, seeing as every religion has some form of demon. There are some very interesting Demons in Judaism…**


	19. In The Dark

**Few! Finally! I'm sorry this took so long guys. I cannot begin to tell you how hard it was to write. I kept almost finishing it, and then I would look back on what I wrote and decide to scrap the whole thing and start over. This is like, the third version of this chapter. There are two songs in this chapter, which I also had a lot of trouble deciding on. The first one is Samara's song, one that should be familiar to you if any of you even remember the beginning of the story at this point, it's been so long. The second song is called 'What Faith Can Do' by Kutless. This wasn't even on my list of potential songs for this chapter until about an hour ago, when it played on my iPod and I thought, wow, this really works… anyways, I strongly recommend listening to the song when it comes up in the story. Here's the YouTube link:**

** watch?v=TVM85dl-61E **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally**

"Ally…"

"Ally wake up…"

"Maybe they hit her with too much…"

"She'll be fine… Come on, Ally, wake up…"

"ALLY!"

Ally shot her eyes open as the sound of her name finally reached her through her drugged state. Her head bobbed on her shoulders from the brief shot of adrenaline, and she shook off the daze in her mind, trying to focus on her surroundings.

The first thing she was aware of was that they were in a cellar. There wasn't really much else it could be, with the dark grey of the cement walls and the coolness of the floor. The second thing she noticed was that she wasn't tied up. That was unexpected. She figured they'd have them all tightly restrained after the fight they put up in the church lobby. They must have a lot of faith in whatever guards the cellar.

A figure moved into her field of vision, and Ally jumped back in alarm, before realising that it was Austin. He looked disheveled and a little bruised, and more than a little worried, but otherwise okay, and Ally felt her heart flood with relief. She'd nearly had a heart attack when she saw him go limp from the dart they'd stuck in his side. Before she realised what she was doing, Ally launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He hugged her back, just as relieved to see her alive and well.

After a few moments of silence, Austin and Ally holding on to each other for dear life, a voice interrupted "What, am I invisible or something? You could at least find a corner."

Ally whirled around to face the speaker, and found herself looking into a welcoming pair of ruby-red eyes. Ally let out a cry of relief, and pulled the little albino into a hug, much to Emma's shock.

"Ouch… Ally, you're squishing me…" Emma protested, squirming a little uncomfortably.

"Sorry." Ally apologised, pulling back. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Immediately, her light mood vanished, replaced by a dark expression. "No," She said, shaking her head at the others. "I'm not okay. I never will be. You shouldn't have come."

"Stop that." Austin reprimanded her, looking annoyed. It seemed like they'd already had that conversation. "We've been over this. We couldn't just leave you."

Irritated, Emma moved away from the couple, pacing the small cell with a hand on her forehead. "I know." She admitted disgruntledly. "I should've thought of that."

"Why would you turn yourself in, Em?" Ally asked her from her spot on the floor. "If you were worried about the demon, you should've just come to us. Maybe we could help, somehow…" She trailed off, biting her lip.

Emma stopped her pacing, and came to rest between Austin and Ally. "You don't understand." She said softly. "I wasn't created to resist the demon. I cannot physically hold back possession. It's going to happen, and god be damned if I'm gonna let it hurt the people I love when it takes over."

"You can fight it." Austin insisted, looking at his sister with desperate eyes. "You just have to believe it, Em."

Emma shook her head, her eyes slightly glazed, staring off into nothing. She curled herself into a ball and rolled onto the floor, tucking her head between her knees. Softly, she admitted "It's been speaking to me."

"What?!" The exclamation was out of Ally's mouth before she had a chance to stop it. A hand flew to her mouth in surprise. "What does it say?" Ally asked softly.

"It sings." She answered.

"Oh, no, Em, you don't have to-" Austin started, seeming to know what was coming. But Emma pointedly ignored him, and started to sing quietly.

_Round we go_

_The world is spinning_

_When it stops_

_It's just beginning_

_Sun comes up_

_We laugh and we cry_

_Sun goes down_

_And then we all die…_

Silence reigned in the following moments. Ally had chills running up and down her spine, chills that didn't seem to want to go away. The lyrics to that awful lullaby bounced back and forth in her mind, making her sick to the stomach. She remembered clearly the first time she heard that lullaby, all right. And though it had certainly sounded creepy coming from Austin, it didn't even come close to how creepy it sounded coming out of Emma's mouth.

"That's the song from your book." Ally said, glancing at Austin for confirmation. "Austin said you used to sing it all the time…" Her voice trailed off, Austin nodding along in confirmation.

"I did." Emma admitted begrudgingly. "I used to hear it all the time when I was a kid, before I was locked up in that basement. After I was locked up, I used it as a tether to my childhood, something to keep me a little sane, you know?" She snorted from the irony. "Little did I know I learnt the song from a demon trying to take over my body."

"That's awful." Ally whispered, more to herself than anybody else.

"But you heard it as a kid, right?" Austin pointed out. "And you fought it off back then. You weren't possessed."

"Only because John locked behind walls and magical barriers." Emma reminded him.

"No," Austin said stubbornly. "You don't need all that magic stuff. You can fight this on your own. You just need to believe you can."

Emma went on as if she hadn't heard him. "It's no use." She whispered, tears brimming her eyes. "I can't fight it."

"Please, Emma," Ally begged the albino, a slightly desperate gleam in her eyes. "You can. Have some faith."

The girl snorted humourlessly. "Faith is what got me here."

"Faith is what keeps people going." Austin jumped in. "You can't fight a demon if you don't have faith." His tone was remarkably serious, and Ally realised with a shock that he truly believed what he was saying. And she suddenly realised, it made a lot of sense. You couldn't fight a creature from hell if you didn't believe in an opposing force to those demons.

Emma didn't respond, and when she didn't, Austin gave a small sigh, and began to sing softly;

_Everybody falls sometimes_

_Gotta find the strength to rise_

_From the ashes and make a new beginning_

_Anyone can feel the ache_

_You think it's more than you can take_

_But you're stronger, stronger than you know_

_Don't you give up now_

_The sun will soon be shining_

_You gotta face the clouds_

_To find the silver lining_

_I've seen, dreams that move the mountains_

_Hope that doesn't ever end_

_Even when the sky is falling_

_I've seen miracles just happen_

_Silent prayers get answered_

_Broken hearts become brand new_

_That's what faith can do_

Austin moved closer to his sister, who was gazing up at him as if he alone held all the answers in the world. Ally stared on, enraptured, as he continued the song.

_It doesn't matter what you've heard_

_Impossible is not a word_

_It's just a reason_

_For someone not to try_

_Everybody's scared to death_

_When they decide to take that step_

_Out on the water_

_But it'll be all right_

_Life is so much more_

_Than what your eyes are seeing_

_You will find your way_

_If you keep believing_

_I've seen dreams that move the mountains_

_Hope that doesn't ever end_

_Even when the sky is falling_

_I've seen miracles just happen_

_Silent prayers get answered_

_Broken hearts become brand new_

_That's what faith can do _

Emma finally found the strength to sit up, and she sat cross-legged, still staring at her brother.

_Overcome the odds when you don't have a chance_

_When the world says you can't, it'll tell you that you can_

Austin reached out and put a comforting arm around his sister, as he finished the song.

_I've seen dreams that move the mountain_

_Hope that doesn't ever end_

_Even when the sky is falling_

_I've seen miracles just happen_

_Silent prayers get answered_

_Broken hearts become brand new_

_That's what faith can do_

_That's what faith can do_

_Even if you fall sometimes_

_You will have the strength to rise_

Austin smiled encouragingly at his younger sister. The albino stared back with wide eyes. Her lips quivered. Then they quivered again. Finally, tears began streaming down her face, and she let out the sobs she'd clearly been holding back for far too long. Ally shimmied closer to the two, sitting next to Austin and putting a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder. The broken little girl then threw herself at the pair, wrapping her arms around them. They held her back just as tightly.

"I don't want to lose you." Emma managed to choke out through her sobs.

Rubbing her back, Austin said. "We don't want to lose you either."

The three of them stayed like that for a couple more minutes, as Emma slowly managed to quiet her sobs, and the flow of tears ceased. Finally, she deemed herself to be alright, and weakly pushed herself away from Austin and Ally.

"Thank you." She whispered. "I think I needed that."

"So you'll fight the demon?" Ally asked hopefully.

"I can try." Emma said after a moment's pause. "But I'm not making any promises."

Austin smiled at his sister in relief, and gave her a brief hug. "I can live with that." He said.

The clanking noise of a metal door opening and closing broke their moment, and all three looked up simultaneously at the disturbance. Three white-robed priests walked into their field of vision. Though there was technically nothing stopping the three of them from attacking the church members, one quick assessment of their attire told Ally it would be pointless. They all had Tasers on them, and all three were significantly larger than the teens. They didn't stand a chance.

"Stand up." One of the members ordered them roughly. Cautiously, the group obeyed, and the three moved forward, each tying up a different kid.

"Where are you taking us?" Austin dared to ask, as his hands were bound behind his back. "What are you going to do to us?"

The man who was tying Austin pushed him forward, none too gently, and was quickly followed by the others. He answered Austin in an emotionless voice;

"You are going to a cleansing ritual."

**That song brings tears to my eyes every time :'). **

**Right, now that that's done with, it's time for some fangirling. OH MY GOSH, GUYS, HAVE YOU SEEN THE TWO MOST RECENT AUSTIN AND ALLY EPISODES?! F&%*#$% #*^&% **_**oh, the feels. **_**I nearly died. Long live Auslly!**

**Right, okay. I feel better now. Until next time everybody!**


	20. Hard Choices

**This turned out to be a pretty fast update for me. I guess since the story is nearing the end, everything's running quickly from here on out. Hopefully the next will be up pretty quickly as well, because I'm kinda scared of leaving you all with this ;) **

**The song here is Brave song from the show angel beats. It was in the story earlier on in its Japanese form, but this time it's in English. Here's the link for it: watch?v=Pei0vzjvpRM **

**All credit for the English version goes to Amalee and her awesome vocal chords. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally **

It was déjà vu.

The hard wood of the chair pressed on his back, bruising the already tender skin from the earlier struggle. His wrists scraped against the rope that bound his hands, peeling off layers of skin and causing a throbbing pain to shoot up his arms. Nothing but the soft glow of a single light illuminated his surroundings, the only noise the ragged sound of breathing. If Austin didn't know better, he'd think he was trapped in that awful basement again, the helpless prisoner of a psychopath.

Only he did know better. And there was one thing about this experience that was vastly different than the other- he wasn't the only one in danger. Ally and Emma sat tied to their own chairs on either side of him, breathing heavily, but not daring to speak. The three church members who had escorted them there- and then proceeded to tying them up- stood silently in the shadows, never for one second taking their eyes off of them.

Austin hated this. He hated being tied up, forced to wait helplessly as his death drew nearer with every second. He longed to do something, anything to get his friends and himself out of the mess they'd landed in. What he wouldn't give for even a phone call—one word, and Dez and Trish would be on their way to save them. But they weren't here. They were far away, with no means of finding out about the trouble their friends were in. There was no way out of this.

"This is murder." Austin seethed to himself. "Half the people here could end up with a life sentence in jail for what they're doing to us."

"Shut up!" One of the jailors yelled from his spot in the shadows.

Austin was too angry to be scared into compliance. "So what," He asked. "You're gonna make a bunch of kids wait in silence for their imminent deaths?"

The three jailors shifted uncomfortably, clearly bothered. Austin reminded himself dryly that these were just members of the church, not assassins. This wasn't something they were accustom to.

"Let 'em talk, J" One finally spoke up, shifting his gaze back and forth between the kids and his superior. "They're just kids, after all."

"Yeah," The other added in support. "We can shut em up if they start saying things they shouldn't be saying."

The third jailor, J, gave a deep sigh, and waved his hand in defeat. "Guess it can't hurt." He muttered.

Austin took full advantage of the opportunity, all his earlier anger draining away in a flash, replaced by a desperate need to communicate some sort of escape plan to his friends. But how could he do that with his three jailors listening?

"So Em," Austin asked, deciding to start on something simple. "What is a cleansing ritual, anyways?"

Emma frowned at him. "It's basically a perverse form of baptism." She answered. "They drown the subject in holy water to cleanse out the demon. If you're really special, they might even try to revive you afterwards, but I don't think we'll have the honour."

"That seems pretty archaic." Ally commented.

"It is." Emma admitted. "The ceremony derives from the middle ages, after all. Just like everything else in this church."

"Including its leader." Austin commented, recalling the old woman, Evangeline. Ally and Emma both let out a short burst of laughter, despite their situation. It was good to hear, and Austin couldn't help but grin back at the two girls.

"So what happens now?" Emma asked soberly, once the laughter had died down.

Ally shook her head. "I don't know." She said. "Maybe you could pull some of your tricks for us?" The jailors eyed the group wearily at the suggestion, but didn't interrupt the conversation.

"I can't." Emma answered, dejected. "At this point, it's too risky. If I so much as inch down that path, there'll be no going back."

"Then I don't see a way out of this." Austin said, his shoulders slumping. He didn't want to give up. He didn't want to look as if he'd lost all hope. But he couldn't muster any positive energy anymore.

"In that case," Emma said, perking up quite suddenly. "Maybe there's something that you and Ally would like to discuss?" Her hopeful expression was somewhat alarming.

"Huh?" Austin asked, oblivious. Ally, on the other hand, had blushed a deep shade of red, and was pointedly avoiding Austin's gaze.

The albino rolled her eyes at her brother. "Oh, come on Austin." She said. "Today might be your last day on earth. Isn't there something you need to say? Something to get off your chest before the end comes? You don't want to leave this world with regrets, do you?"

"No…" Austin murmured uncertainly, feeling his own face begin to burn. It had suddenly occurred to him what his sister was talking about.

"Of course it would be me to point it out." Emma continued, speaking to herself as much to her friends. "I know this isn't what you imagined it would be. All I can say to that is that you need to speak now, or forever hold your peace." She chuckled slightly at her own joke. "Let the cat out of the bag, guys. The tension's been killing me."

Austin looked over at Ally, then back to his sister. Then back to Ally again. Seeing her vibrantly red cheeks, her beautiful long hair, her bright brown eyes—so beautiful, so alive—he realised she was right. He couldn't hold back any longer. He never imagined he might have to tell her in such circumstances, but it was no longer his choice to make. It was now or never.

"Ally…" Austin began, talking a steadying breath. But before he could go on, she interrupted.

"No, Austin," She began, her words coming out in a big rush, her cheeks blushing madly. "I should've told you about this forever ago. Now that we're here, I really wish I had, because if we don't make it out of here, then I'll never know where it would have led to. But Em's right—we have right now to make up for it. So here's the truth: I love you." She clenched her eyes shut for a moment before going on, Austin's eyes going rounder than the sun. "When I think back on it now, I think it's always been there, you know? We've always been so close, always understood each other so perfectly. You remember the song me and Emma co-wrote? I wrote it for you, from me. I just didn't want to jeopardize our friendship by making you face my feelings for you. But I love you, I really do, and this really might be my last chance to tell you that."

As Ally finished up her little speech, she tucked in her chin and turned away from the others as much as her bindings would allow, hiding the redness of her skin. Austin just stared at her, his brain having shut down the moment she'd first said 'I love you'. He was in shock. Stunning, overwhelming, and glorifying shock. All this time… all the time he'd been silent about his feelings, and she'd felt the same way. It was only just hitting him how much he could be losing at that moment. Not just Ally, but the chance to be with her as well.

Emma was right. He never should've kept it secret.

"Of course I love you, Ally." Austin finally managed to say. Ally spun around, staring at him with disbelieving eyes. He continued "I always have. You've always been the one thing that keeps me going, no matter how hard things get. Even in that basement, it was the thought of you that kept me fighting for survival. You're my world, Ally. I can't imagine existing without you."

For a second, Ally could only stare, her face mirroring the same shock that Austin had experienced a moment ago. Then, quite suddenly, her face split into a wide, joyous smile, and a small, happy laugh escaped her lips. Austin couldn't help but smile back. Ally loved him. He loved her. The swell of happy feelings gave him the sensation that he was practically floating. The world narrowed down to nothing but this wonderful moment he was sharing with the girl he loved. Austin was on cloud nine, and he'd never been happier in his life.

Too bad it couldn't last.

The sound of the opening door broke into their moment, drawing their attention to the newcomers. There was no mistaking the imposing figures of Evangeline and Raphael. Their former captive stared coldly at the group from behind his superior while she spoke.

"It is time." She said to her fellow church members. "Bring them to the cleansing chamber."

The three jailors followed her orders silently, with almost robotic movements. Austin didn't have to be a genius to see that they didn't want to do this, but he knew as much as they did that the second they stood up to their superior they'd find themselves in the same situation as their captives.

Within a couple minutes, the three of them were untied, and Evangeline began marching them down the hall. Austin didn't try to fight. He knew he didn't stand a chance against the group he was up against. But still, he could feel the beginnings of true panic in the pit of his stomach. He could feel the pace of his heart quicken, and more than anything, he wanted to reach out and pull Ally to him, and never let go.

But he couldn't. He couldn't do anything.

There was no way out of this.

Emma could see the hope dwindling in her brother's eyes the further they marched down the hall, and she hated it. She hated seeing the light go out of his eyes like that. She hated that he might have to give up his life before being able to be with Ally. She hated the stupid superstitious church-cult for putting her and her friends through everything.

But most of all, she hated herself for putting her friends in this situation.

What if she could've fought the demon off? What if she really was strong enough? She didn't actually know, after all, how much it took to keep it at bay. But one moment of weakness had ruined her chances. She should've realised that turning herself in wouldn't help them at all, that they would chase after her regardless. All she did by turning herself in was put her entire family in danger. Anything that happened to them would be entirely her fault.

Now, Emma had a choice to make, and she was running out of time to make it. She could fix everything. She could break this church and free her family, righting all the wrongs she'd committed in the last day or so. But she knew, in her heart, that it would also mean leaving everyone she loved for good. Once she went down that road, there would be no going back.

Emma peaked through her long hair over to her brother and his new girlfriend. Could she do it? Could she sacrifice herself to save them? She didn't doubt she would, but she couldn't help but feel they still might need her. Yet, even as she thought it, she realised they had already moved on. They had each other now, and that's all they'd ever truly need. Even as a family member, she'd always been so far away from them, anyways. They could never think on the same level as her. No, they didn't need her anymore.

There was nothing holding her back.

The progression finally came to a stop at the front of a dark pool. Giant doors closed behind the group, blocking off any possible escape routes. Burning torches on the wall cast light, demonstrating how archaic the church truly was. Really, hadn't they ever heard of electricity?

Evangeline and Raphael stepped forward with Emma, pushing her along none too gently.

"The demon goes first." The leader announced. "Get the prayers ready."

As the members got working, Raphael leaned in, and whispered in Emma's ears; "Any last words?"

Yes, she thought. These were her final moments.

There would be a final song.

When she began to sing, the church members glanced at her in shock. But Evangeline pointedly ignored her, so the others fearfully did the same. Austin and Ally, on the other hand, listened with rapt attention, recognising the tune faintly from a Japanese song she'd sung them so long ago.

_I've always noticed that you're not here beside me_

_I see when I look back, you've all gone on without me_

_Deep in my heart I'll keep myself strong and fighting_

_And that's how I stay strong even now _

_Nothing in this world scares me anymore_

_I'll whisper those words to this heart you tore_

Evangeline was handed her script, and she moved forward into the pool. Raphael followed her with Emma. The water was surprisingly warm, and was almost pleasant to be in, was it not for the circumstances. Austin and Ally could only stare, the situation to horrible for them to truly express any emotion. As Evangeline began the prayers, Emma continued her song quietly, blocking out her surroundings.

_Everyone feels alone when times are hard_

_We seem to lock ourselves inside memories_

_And ignore the real world_

_Even though I feel I might cry_

_I'll laugh away loneliness knowing_

_Love's out there somewhere waiting for me_

Evangeline finished her prayers, and as Raphael's strong arms tensed on Emma's shoulders as she finished her song.

_You won't catch me crying over what would be_

Raphael pushed down, and the water engulfed her.


	21. The Cost of Freedom

**I had way too much fun writing this chapter and the last one. I feel almost evil, with the way I ended the last chapter. I honestly hadn't planned it that way at all, until I was about half way through the chapter, and I thought "Wow, that would be an awesome way to end a chapter." I worked on this chapter as fast as I could, with school and all, to try and compensate. So here it is. I really hope you like it. **

**P.S. I write this story out in a word document, so some errors don't reach me right away when I upload it. First of all, I can't seem to make some sort of line to separate the chapter when I switch from points of views. Also, it won't let me post a full link. So, for any link I've posted recently, just put in the whole .com thing and add the link I gave onto that. **

**Anyways, let's get this show on the road! And in case anyone was wondering, I don't own Austin and Ally. **

Austin had been watching the scene before him unfold in complete silence and stillness, too numb from just how unreal it all was. But the second his sister was submerged in the water, he came crashing back to reality, and began to struggle desperately against the strong arms that held him. The grip tightened in an effort to hold him still.

"Please!" He yelled at Raphael and Evangeline, desperation surrounding him like an electric field. He was all too aware of every second his sister couldn't breathe. "You don't have to do this! Please let her go!" From beside him, he heard the sounds of Ally's own desperate cries.

The church leaders stared at the couple with a burning cold expression. She showed no sympathy, not even toward the girl she was currently drowning. She said "The demon shall pay the price for attempting to enter this world."

"_And you shall pay the price for denying it entry_."

Everyone in the room froze simultaneously as the cold, evil voice filled their ears. The temperature in the room began to drop dramatically, until Austin could see his breath in front of him. No one dared to move, not the captors or the captives. They were all frozen with terror.

Then the lights went out, and the room was plunged into darkness. Austin couldn't see anything anymore. He could only feel the hands on his arms, and hear the soft trickle of moving water.

Then someone screamed.

It was clear within an instant that it was a woman who had screamed. For a moment, Austin was terrified that it was Ally who had screamed, but after a moment he could hear her frantic voice calling out for him, and he was awash with momentary relief. It quickly gave way to some quick powers of deduction, however. If it wasn't Ally who had screamed, them it could only be one other.

Evangeline.

Austin could hear Raphael calling out for her, as well as the splashing of water as he looked for her in the pool. He called her name, completely abandoning his duty to drown Emma. Austin wondered briefly if she was okay, before Raphael's strangled scream scattered his thoughts.

"What is it, Ray?" One of the dry captors called out in a panic.

Austin was sure he was close to tears when he responded. "I think I found her… She's not moving… There's something warm in here, something thick… Oh lord, I think it's blood-" Whatever he was going to say afterwards was cut off by a terrified scream of his own. There was the sound of water splashing as Raphael clearly tried to get away from his captor. It was no use. Within seconds, the thrashing quieted, and the room was plunged into silence once more.

The couple seconds that followed were thick with shock. The remaining members couldn't believe what was happening. Austin and Ally couldn't believe it. But through the disbelief, one basic instinct came through loud and clear.

"Run!"

Austin never found out who shouted it. He simply obeyed. He forgot that he was the captive of a church that was trying to kill his sister. He forgot that he'd been condemned to death himself, and had been awaiting his sentence moments before. The only thing he fully processed was that he had to get out of there, and he had to get out now.

The flood of light that greeted him when he pushed open the door shocked him for a moment, causing pain to flare briefly behind his eyes. He promptly ignored it, and kept on moving. He was only vaguely aware of Ally catching up to him, but he did notice when she grasped his hand. He glanced sideways at her, taking in her panicked expression, and increased his pace.

They made it all the way down the hall and into the main lobby of the church before they were stopped. The five of them came to an abrupt halt, shocked to be faced with another seven church members. For a moment, they simply stared in shock, but after a moment someone noticed who they were and raised a tranquilizer gun toward them, shouting for them to stand still. They did, raising their hands in the universal sign of surrender, while Austin continuously glanced back at the door they'd closed behind him in mounting fear.

"What are you doing?" Tranquilizer guy asked one of the jailors accusingly. "They're supposed to be in the chamber by now."

"David, you don't understand, something went really wrong in there." One of the jailors tried to explain. "I think Evangeline and Raphael are dead, and-"

The door burst open behind them, cutting off his explanation. Austin grabbed Ally's hand and dove sideways, steering clear of the path of whatever was coming in. When the dust cleared and the figure emerged, Austin could hardly believe his eyes.

It was Emma.

Only, one look at her face told Austin that this wasn't really his sister. It was her body, no doubt about that. This girl had the same pale skin, the same small frame and the same long, white hair as Amelia Moon. But her eyes were all wrong. The red swirled around in her eyes, giving the impression of flowing blood. And the look on her face—a look so evil, so cold, one that no human could ever muster. Power emanated from her, whipping at her hair as she literally floated above the ground.

And that's when Austin knew, beyond a doubt, exactly what had happened.

His sister had been possessed.

Austin's heart crashed in his chest as he took in the form that used to belong to his sister. He couldn't muster any words. He couldn't think at all, only feel. Thankfully, it was the members of the church who took on the responsibility of conversation.

"Who are you?" The man named David asked with wavering confidence. "Name yourself, demon!"

The demon smiled at the group, and Austin cringed back in disgust. He'd never known a smile so devoid of joy.

When she answered, it was a single word, and the sound of it bounced around the room, drawing out the shadows and striking into the hearts of even the bravest people in the room.

"_Lilith_"

At the sound of the name, all church members backed off, retreating to the corners, trying desperately to find a way out. But the only way out of the room was past Lilith, and no one wanted to risk it. For the time being, they were trapped. David continued speaking, his face several shades whiter than it had been a moment ago. "Lucifer's most trusted." He acknowledged.

"_I shall bring my lord into this world."_ That awful voice claimed. "_We have awaited centuries for a blood child to grow. Possession is long overdue for this one."_ She said the last words with a smirk.

All at once, Austin's fear dissipated, replaced by a burning anger. He shouted "You leave my sister alone!"

Lilith's attention was now drawn to him, and she turned on her cold stare. His anger vanished, and Austin sank into the corner as much as the walls would allow, wishing desperately that he'd kept his mouth shut. Stupid.

Lilith started to approach. She raised her hand toward Austin and Ally, gathering power around her, no doubt planning to throw everything she had at the two of them to kill them. But just as she was about to end it all for the couple, a strange thing happened. For a moment, she faltered. Her eyes stopped swirling, and the evil look vanished. She stumbled to the ground in a heap, and Austin dared to hope for one fleeting second that his sister would be okay.

But then the moment was gone, and Lilith was back, looking utterly furious. She knew her control had just slipped. Out of sheer frustration, she launched her gathered power in the opposite direction, blasting a whole in the wall. Most of the members in the room immediately caught on to the new escape route, and launched for it. Unfortunately, Lilith still had her attention on the wall, so she saw the church members slipping away. She shrieked and held her fist out before her, yanking it back with a small chant. About half the escaping members responded to the movement, and flew back into the room. She immediately came down on them with murderous intent. All the pleading in the world wouldn't save them then.

With Lilith distracted by her current victims, Austin saw his chance. Without pausing to think twice, he grabbed Ally by the hand, and darted out of the room behind a couple surviving church members. Once he was out of the room, he ran for all it was worth, sprinting harder than he ever had before in his life. He sent out a silent thank you to whoever was watching over them then that she didn't follow them.

The church was a huge place, and it wasn't long before the sounds of the suffering finally died in the background. When he could no longer hear the sounds, Austin slowed, giving his scorching lungs a break. He promptly collapsed on a nearby chair, and Ally followed him. There was enough room for the two of them, but neither of them really cared. They wrapped their arms around each other, keeping as close to one another as they possibly could. Austin couldn't help but smile slightly as he felt her respond to him. It seemed like forever ago that they'd been confessing their love for each other.

After a few more minutes of simply enjoying the safety of each other's arms, Ally finally pulled back slightly, and whispered "Emma let that happen."

"Huh?" Austin asked, feeling like a genius as he did.

"You heard her, before they submerged her." Ally explained. "She knew that there was no way we could get out of that on our own, so she did the only thing she could to help. She let the demon have control. She must've known that it would start by killing the nearest person. She must've figured that would give us enough time to escape."

Austin sighed. The emotions hadn't hit him yet. He'd suffered from so much already, he was beginning to go numb again. "She was right." Austin pointed out. "We never would've gotten out otherwise."

"I know." Ally admitted. She sighed, and lay her head back down on his shoulder. "I just wish she hadn't had to."

"At least her plan worked." Austin said, lightening the mood a little. Ally smiled, and agreed "At least it worked."

And it had.

They were free.

**Fangirl moment: Am I alone in wanting to punch Austin right now in the actual TV series? Or at least in wanting to give him a good shake? OH MY GODS, AUSTIN, STOP BEING STUPID! Grrrrrrrr….. He's lucky that he's a fictional character, that's all I'm going to say. **


End file.
